Gourmet Mussels Tagine with Harissa and Lime

Mussels Tagine with Fennel, Shallots, Lime, and Harissa

The sound of the surf can be like a lullaby, but this morning, I found myself wide awake at 5 AM, the kind of awake that tells you there’s no point in fighting it. The first light of dawn was just starting to break through the misty marine layer, casting everything in a cool, gray-blue hue. Instead of tossing and turning, I decided to lean into the magic of the moment. I slid out of bed, leaving the warmth of the covers behind, and tiptoed through the stillness of this coastal cabin. The world outside was calling, and I had to go.

There’s something exhilarating about suiting up in a wetsuit in the semi-darkness. It feels like donning armor for a secret mission, and in a way, it is. I grabbed a rusty rake, a reusable shopping bag and headed out. The air was damp and crisp, tinged with the scent of salt and seaweed. Ever step bringing the sound of the rough and wild ocean closer and closer.

The rocky tide pools along the Oregon Coast hold so many surprises—hidden pockets of life just waiting to be discovered. Today, my mission was to catch crabs, and they always seem to taste better when you’ve foraged for them yourself.

The crunch of gravel underfoot was the only sound as I made my way to the shore. No one else in sight along this lightly travelled beach road.

As it happened the only crabs to be found this morning were in tide pools deeper than I dare swim into. This coast is unpredictable and wild, and if I cannot keep my feet on the ground, I am not going in. So, with my husband and a good friend, who had also made their way to the beach, I went on a new adventure…mussel foraging.

As we reached the huge rocky outcrops and monoliths, the mussels were abundant here, their smooth shells blending in with the wet rocks so well, they are almost imperceptible, even close up. We had to work quickly to avoid being trapped by the incoming tides. We got to work, pulling and carefully scraping off our limit of mussels, each of us focused in the rhythm of the task. I find a kind of peace and satisfaction in foraging, from knowing that this is the way humans have gathered food for thousands of years, straight from the source.

Our bucket filled, we headed back, hands and feet freezing, but already talking about the next food we could find. Would it be blackberries along the quiet streets, or maybe oyster mushrooms in the woods along the coastline?

Arriving home, our haul was impressive, but we had a lot of work to do to transform these gifts of the sea into a meal worthy of the effort. Wild mussels do not look like the ones you buy in the store or market. You have to remove the twine-like beards and scrape off the barnacles and other debris, as well as soak them and rinse repeatedly to get all the sand out.

Cleaning wild mussels.

Mussels tagine was on the menu that day, a dish that turns an ordinary meal into a special occasion. In case you are not familiar, a tagine is a traditional North African clay cooking vessel with a distinctive cone-shaped lid. This design allows steam to circulate inside, keeping moisture in the dish and enhancing the flavors as ingredients slowly cook, which results in tender, flavorful meals without the need for added liquids. While a traditional Moroccan tagine would have been ideal, I didn’t have one here in this coastal cabin, so a non-stick Dutch oven would do just fine. There’s a certain creativity that comes with cooking in a small, coastal cabin. You make do with what you have, and more often than not, you kind of make it up as you go along.

Mussels tagine sounds complicated, but it is actually really easy. The hardest part is finding the harissa paste at the store. It does take a little finesse to get the flavors just how you like them though, so a little patience and willing to experiment is called for.

That night, as a fragrant broth of shallots, fennel, wine and harissa pepper simmered in the pot, I dumped in a huge colander full of the cleaned mussels as my husband finished baking a fresh loaf of his rosemary sourdough bread. Once the mussels opened up, I adding lots of lime juice, salt, coconut milk and a bit of sugar to round out the dish and we sat down to eat the meal we worked so hard to make happen.

Living in Oregon has taught me the magic of foraging, of building a meal around what the land and sea provide. There’s a certain satisfaction that comes from creating something special out of what you find, a reminder that life is about making the most of what you have, wherever you are. Every meal becomes a celebration, a way to honor the bounty of the place you call home.

And just like that, a simple morning transformed into a feast, one that we’ll remember not just for the time around the table, but for the journey it took to create it. It’s moments like these that make me grateful to live in a place where the natural world is so generous, and where both adventure and nourishment are just a step outside the door.

Author: Aly Pitts

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Gourmet Mussels Tagine with Harissa and Lime

This Mussels Tagine is a fragrant and flavorful dish, perfect for a special occasion or a cozy dinner at home. Its also a super easy dish to make, despite its fancy name. The mussels are steamed in a rich broth made with white wine, fennel, shallots, harissa pepper paste, and a hint of lime, all balanced by the creamy sweetness of coconut milk. If you don't have a traditional tagine, a large Dutch oven with a lid works just as well.Serve this dish with toasty garlic bread for dipping, over a bed of fluffy white rice, or with rice noodles to soak up all the delicious broth. The combination of spicy, tangy, and creamy flavors makes this a memorable meal that elevates everyday dining.For the Harissa Paste you can also use Harissa Powder and turn it into paste by mixing the powder with two parts olive oil and 1 part water. When I don't have harissa paste, I have also been known to use Ras el Hanout or Red Curry Paste. It alters the flavor and the amount you add, but both are equally delicious.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs Fresh Mussels, (in their shells, cleaned and rinsed) OR 1 lb Fresh Mussels and 1lb Raw Shrimp
• 2 TBSP Olive Oil
• 3/4 cup Vegetable Broth
• 3/4 cup White Wine
• Juice of 1 Lime
• 5 Shallots, Thinly Sliced
• 1 Large Fennel Bulb, Thinly Sliced (I like to cut one or two more times down the center of my slices for slightly smaller pieces.)
• 2 tsp Harissa Paste (Add more if you like some spice!)
• 3/4 cup canned coconut milk
• 3-4 TBSP sugar, to taste
• sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
• Large bunch of cilantro, chopped

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a large tagine, or dutch oven
2. Stir in the shallots and fennel and saute until soft, but not browned. About 5-7 minutes.
3. Stir in the harissa paste, and then add the vegetable broth, wine and lime juice.
4. Bring to a boil and add sugar and 1 tsp salt.
5. If using shrimp, add the shrimp to the pot first, and then add the mussels, discarding any that are already opened.
6. Cover and bring liquid back to a boil. Boil for six minutes, until mussels are opened.
7. Remove the lid, add the coconut milk, a generous handful of cilantro, and lots of cracked black pepper.
8. Gently agitate and the shrimp and mussels and stir the broth, making sure the mussels all have room to open.
9. Taste the broth and, if needed, add additional salt, sugar or lime, depending on your taste preference.
10. Replace the lid and continue cook another 3-4 minutes until cilantro is softened and all the mussels are wide open.
11. Serve with crispy buttered bread, or over a bed of rice or rice noodles. Garnish with additional cilantro and black pepper.