One of the traditional dishes of the stew are the stuffed muscles, woe to call them mussels. Here's where to find them and how to prepare them, recipe not included
In border areas such as the province of La Spezia there are few certainties. One of these are the stuffed muscles, the dish par excellence of the spezzino (do not even try to call them mussels), emblem of the inseparable relationship between land and sea, which never as in Liguria are invoked continuously. An example is one of the temples of traditional local cuisine: the Trattoria del Cacciatore in Valdonica, for all “dalla Dina”, where the recipe for stuffed muscles remains secret.
The Trattoria del Cacciatore, since 1973
We feel obliged to notify you: once you enter the Dina for the first time, there will never be the last one. Here it all started in 1973 with Dina, then continue with the daughter Maura and the granddaughter Giulia, who today, now in the third generation, manage the restaurant together. They are open only for lunch (except for rare occasions and special evenings) with a full respect menu, including fresh pasta, for only 10 euros. Many of their strong dishes, both land and sea, such as tagliatelle, tortellini, Ligurian top and obviously stuffed muscles; in fact we are right between sea and mountains, between the Gulf of La Spezia and the Apuan Alps, in a Liguria that crosses with Tuscany and Emilia, which with its salami and its Parmesan (which we find in the muscles) is right at the beyond the Cisa and the Passo del Cerreto. All this could only have strong influences in the kitchen, as shown by this dish, which right here finds one of its best expressions. Giulia and Maura, in fact, let slip that one of the reasons why the Cilenti come from afar is the fact that in the filling they never skimp on mussels, unlike many other places where for economy of time and costs they prefer to abound with the bread, used here only to tie together with the egg. During the summer, it is not uncommon to come to one of the themed evenings that they organize on their large terrace, where the stuffed muscle is often the protagonist, otherwise you can find them on the menu. «Usually the portion is 10 pieces, but as in the best houses we often switch to clean dishes to offer an encore to those who want it; the problem is that everyone always wants it! But do you have a vague idea of the immense and long work behind this dish? ".
How to make the muscles stuffed with La Spezia
Stuffed muscles are a dish summer, which is prepared from June to September, when the mussels reach the perfect size for consumption. The local ones are strictly used, which the various mussel farmers, also united in a cooperative, fish in the gulf of La Spezia. After selecting only the best mussels, it is essential to clean them well, with the help of coarse salt in a bowl, elbow grease and steel wool. Once perfectly cleaned, they must be opened from raw with a precise technique, which reminds a little of the opening of the oysters, that is, without dividing the bivalve. Then we move on to the preparation of the filling with the following ingredients: mortadella (or ham), parmesan, garlic, parsley, bread, eggs is herbs various that each puts differently; and then also the mussels themselves, which are cooked separately for a few minutes. So for a kilo of stuffed muscles you have to work about eight kilos of mussels in total! But it's not over: once you have filled your muscles with the filling, they must cook slowly again for about 3-4 hours in a secret sauce, of which nothing else is known, except that some in the houses close them one by one. one with it string. In fact, those who make stuffed muscles as they once have their own recipe that keeps us secret, also because given the preparation time and the complexity (whether you prepare 10 or 1000 does not change much), few have remained do it properly, in a workmanlike manner, so much so that you eat less and less at home and more often around, both on the coast and inside the La Spezia.
Other places to find stuffed muscles
Stuffed muscles are often found in the stew, but really well done ones are rare. In addition to the Cacciatore, in La Spezia there are the Antica Osteria Negrao or theHell, historical place in the pedestrian center of the city; or the Girls coffee di Montemarcello, which prepares them in a divine way. Another reference address is the Ciccio shed in Bocca di Magra, much loved by writers, which offers a lighter version. But the stuffed muscles can also come surprisingly, off the menu, as a dish of the day, for example On the corner of Renzo di Ceparana, where a complete and quality business lunch costs only 11 euros. And then there is the best version of all: that of the La Spezia houses, the rare ones that still prepare them like Stefania, careful and caring owner of theAgriturismo The village of Pegui where, in addition to the muscles, he also cooks other dishes with vegetables and herbs from his garden. In short, yet another confirmation of how Liguria is first of all land. Land to love, cultivate and share, even with what comes from the sea.
This recipe has already been read 155 times!