'Nduja Mussels
Steamed Mussels with a Calabrian 'Nduja Heat
'Nduja—pronounced “en-DOO-ya,” comes from Calabria in Southern Italy. It’s made with fatty ground pork, ground Calabrian chilies, and salt. It’s fermented in warm, climate-controlled chambers for 12 to 36 hours, then moved to a chamber with a cooler temperature, and aged for longer. 'Nduja lends a buttery texture, always spreadable and packs a great flavor—salty, spicy-sweet, subtly funky, and very yummy.
The high fat percentage of 'Nduja allows it to perfectly blend with the aromatics, the white wine, and the mussel juice, lending the broth a distinct heat from the Calabrian chilies and meaty richness from the pork in this dish.
'Nduja Mussels
15 ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil (optional, chili-infused)
85 g Shallots (or Onions), thinly sliced
2 Garlic cloves
Kosher salt (as needed)
60 g Villani or Sila & Sila Fratelli 'Nduja
240 ml Dry White Wine
1 kg Fresh Mussels, scrubbed and cleaned
15 g Fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
1 tbsp Lemon Juice
1 tsp Lemon Zest, finely grated
1 Sourdough Bread Loaf, for serving
