Cook It: Black mussels and chorizo sausage (Instructional video)

Cookit! Black mussels and chorizo

Cooking demo with Tony Biagetti of Handsome ...

Photo by CARRIE WISE // Buy this photo

Executive chef Tony Biagetti makes black mussels and chorizo sausage. This is a popular dish at Handsome Harry's Third Street Bistro in Naples.

NAPLES — Chef Tony Biagetti of Handsome Harry’s Third Street Bistro, 1205 Third St. S., Naples, 434-6400, flexes his mussels when he makes them with chorizo sausage on CookIt!

Biagetti, a native of Piscataway, N.J., is happy to demonstrate how to make his favorite dish, which is also one of the top sellers on the restaurant’s menu. He has been the chef at Handsome Harry’s for almost four years, but if he couldn’t be a chef, he says, he would enjoy being a charter captain for backwater fishing and then cooking his clients’ catch. Fresh fish off his charter boat or in his restaurant both would be sautéed with garlic, extra virgin olive oil and butter, which Biagetti always has available in his kitchen.

Biagetti’s own favorite foods, not in any particular order, are French pastries, chocolate, truffle pasta and foie gras. If he could cook for anyone, he says he would really enjoy making osso bucco for his dad and would savor the meal and time together.

Here is Biagetti’s recipe:

Black mussels and chorizo sausage

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound black mussels

¼ pound chorizo sausage

2 tablespoons fresh chopped garlic

Juice from one lemon

4 ounces white wine

2 ounces butter, diced and softened

¼ cup manchego or Parmesan cheese, grated

½ cup, cilantro leaves, packed

Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

■ Preheat a 9- or 10-inch sauté pan with the olive oil until lightly smoking.

■ Add mussels carefully and sauté briefly.

■ Add chorizo and garlic cook for 2 minutes covered.

■ Add the wine and lemon juice and simmer covered until mussels open.

■ Add the butter, cheese and cilantro and simmer for 30 seconds.

■ Season with salt and pepper and plate.

■ Serves two.