Preparation

1. Start by cleaning the mussels under cold running water: scrape off any barnacles or dirt on the shells with a knife or stiff brush and pull out the beards. Discard any mussels with broken shells or open shells that don’t close after a sharp tap. After cleaning, you can leave the mussels in a bowl of salted water while you start preparing the sauce.
2. Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a pan, gently crush the garlic in its skin and add to the pan and let it flavour the oil for about a minute. Wash and dry the cherry tomatoes, cut them in half, and add to the pan with a pinch of salt. Let them cook slowly until the tomatoes have softened and released their juice. Add some fresh parsley to the sauce (keeping some for later) and give it a good stir. Turn off the heat.
3. Put some water in a saucepan for the pasta and bring to the boil.
4. In the meantime, place the mussels in a big saucepan and cover with a lid. Cook for a couple of minutes over a high heat. Gently shake the saucepan once or twice while they’re cooking. You’ll know they’re done when their shells open.
5. Salt the boiling water and add the fregola or spaghetti and follow the cooking instructions. Stir occasionally to prevent it sticking.
6. Once the mussels are cooked and open, start separating the mussels from their shells as shown in the picture:

Remember to leave some mussels with their shells on (to garnish the dish).

7. Add all of the cooked mussels to the sauce and continue to cook over a low heat, gently stirring occasionally.
8. Once the pasta is ready, drain and add to the sauce (keep some of the cooking water from the pasta and put to one side). Stir everything together to allow the flavours to combine, leave the pan on a low/medium heat for about a minute. Taste, and add a little bit of the pasta cooking water if the sauce looks a bit dry. Stir, taste again and season with salt if necessary.
9. Start plating. Sprinkle a little bit of chopped parsley on top of your dish for that extra freshness.

Buon appetito!