Smoked Mussel Tapenade

This smoked mussel tapenade is a savory delight, heaped upon toasted bread or even stirred through hot pasta. The mussel flavor is subtle but super tasty!  

We’ve been spoiled this year from mid-August through mid-November because, staying in the Channel Islands, the most delightful mussels cooked with garlic and cream are available at many restaurants. The island’s own farmed stocks were much depleted by an invasion of spider crabs (Who knew that spider crabs are a natural predator for mussels? Not me!) but the Scottish mussels substituted were wonderful. 

We are back in Houston now and while there are fresh mussels nearby, they are a larger variety than we are fond of. We like ‘em small, truth be told. 

So, for this month’s Fish Friday Foodies challenge with mussels as the main ingredient, I decided to go a different direction and use canned ones. I found a few recipes online that were easily adaptable and sounded tasty. And then I went to three supermarkets and couldn’t find smoked mussels in any of them. 

Trader Joe’s to the rescue! An internet search – which I admit I should have done in the first place – said that Trader Joe’s has smoked mussels so I called my nearest one. The lovely person who answered the phone actually went to look and reported back that, indeed, he had smoked mussels on the shelf. When I told him that he was wonderful, he joked, “Wait a sec while I get my wife on the line so you can tell her.” Never mind his wife, I hope his employer appreciates him! 

Smoked Mussel Tapenade

This recipe is adapted from one on Wendi’s AIP Kitchen. Nonpareil capers are the little small ones. If you are using larger capers, you might want to use more than 1 tablespoon because of the space between them as you measure. 

Ingredients

3 1/2 oz or 100g (about 30-32) oil-cured olives (Pits still in are better!)

2 cloves garlic, chopped roughly

1 can (4.02oz or 114g) lightly smoked mussels in extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon nonpareil capers

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon finely chopped green onions (just the green part) plus extra for garnish

Method

Pit the olives with an olive pitter or by hitting them with the flat side of a large knife on a cutting board and pulling the pit free. I suggest you count the olives and then count the pits afterwards. You do not want to leave a pit in an olive. 

Drain the olive oil off of the mussels and reserve two tablespoons of it. 

Place the olives, garlic, drained mussels, capers, lemon juice and most of the green onions (reserve a small amount for garnish) in a mini food processor along with the reserved two tablespoons of olive oil from the mussels. 

Process, scraping down the bowl as needed, until you get a chunky spread. 

Remove to a serving bowl or ramekin and garnish with the reserved green onions. 

Serve at room temperature on toast. Delicious! This would be a great appetizer with a crisp white wine or chilled beer. We ate it heaped on the toast for lunch! So good. Leftovers were tossed with hot buttered pasta. Divine.

Enjoy!

It’s the third Friday of the month so it’s time for my Fish Friday Foodies to share seafood recipes. As mentioned above, our main ingredient/theme this month is mussels. We are small but mighty this month. Check out the links below. Many thanks to our host, Sue of Palatable Pastime. 

• Creamy Garlic Mussels and Spaghetti from Palatable Pastime
• Garlic and Herb Steamed Mussels from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Mussels with White Wine and Garlic from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Smoked Mussel Tapenade from Food Lust People Love

Would you like to join Fish Friday Foodies? We post and share new seafood/fish recipes on the third Friday of the month. To join our group please email Wendy at wendyklik1517 (at) gmail.com. Visit our Facebook page and Pinterest page for more wonderful fish and seafood recipe ideas.

Pin this Smoked Mussel Tapenade!

 .