A way to reuse sandwich bread and garnish mussels "festively." But also an appetizer that dignifies the mollusk, making it the star of an entire course.

Ingredients

SERVING for 4 PEOPLE

40 large mussels
200 g of potatoes
50 g of Pienza pecorino cheese
2 slices of sandwich bread
1 clove of garlic
A bunch of parsley
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Italian extra virgin olive oil
Sunflower oil
Garlic oil (1 head of garlic per 100 ml of EVO oil; blend)

Method

Wash and scrape the mussels thoroughly. In a pan, heat EVO oil, garlic, and parsley. When the oil is hot, add the mollusks (previously cleaned and brushed) and cover; 30 seconds later, add ½ glass of water and cover again. As soon as the mussels open, remove them from the heat. Remove the mussels from the shell and place them on a plate (keeping the prettiest shells for decoration).

Meanwhile, boil the potatoes in salted water, drain, peel, and mash them in a large container. Using a spatula, mix in EVO oil, garlic oil, pecorino, salt, and pepper. Put it in a pastry bag, fill the mussels, and place them on the saved shells.

Roll the sandwich bread in the pastry roller until its thickness is reduced by half. Cut it into very small cubes and fry them in sunflower oil at 140°C until golden. Dry on absorbent paper and use to bread the mussel filling. Gratin the mussels in the grill with a drizzle of EVO oil.