Black Pasta With Mussels

• 3 cloves garlic, sliced
• olive oil
• 4 pounds mussels, scrubbed
• 1/2 cup cooked small white beans like cicerchie or cannelini, optional
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 pound squid ink pasta, preferably Felcetti brand
• salt
• 1 small fresh red chili pepper, thinly sliced to taste, or red pepper flakes
• 1/2 bunch fresh parsley

1. Over medium heat, in a large frying pan, cook the garlic in 3 tablespoons of oil until aromatic.
2. Add the mussels, cooked beans if using, wine and tomatoes, and cover.
3. Cook until the shells open, about 5 minutes, then remove almost all the mussels from their shells, leaving a few in the shell for garnish.
4. Discard the shells and put the mussels back into the sauce.
5. To serve the pasta laid out straight, bring about 3 inches of salted water to a boil in two separate frying pans, each wide enough to hold the pasta horizontally.
6. Divide the pasta between the pans and cook until al dente, then, using two tongs or a wide spatula, remove the pasta from the pans and, keeping the spaghetti straight, lay it out onto a serving platter.
7. (Alternatively, you can cook the pasta in a tall pot of boiling water, and serve it in the conventional way.)
8. Top with sauce and reserved mussels in shells.
9. Season with salt and red chili peppers.
10. Serve topped with chopped parsley.

garlic, olive oil, mussels, white beans, white wine, tomatoes, pasta, salt, red chili pepper, parsley

Taken from www.foodrepublic.com/recipes/black-pasta-with-mussels-recipe/ (may not work)