Mussels Buzara 🦪 Montenegrin Adriatic 🇲🇪 (Dagnje na Buzaru)

Description

Steamy pot of mussels in garlicky white wine with parsley and a glossy olive-oil finish—salty-sweet, lemon-bright, pure seaside tavern. 🍋🌿

Hook: One pot, 10 minutes on the stove—bread-dipping, silky broth included. ⚡

Ingredients

• 🦪 Fresh mussels, scrubbed & debearded: 1.5 kg (≈3.3 lb)
• 🧄 Garlic, thinly sliced: 12 g (4 cloves / 0.4 oz)
• 🧅 Shallot or onion, very fine dice: 80 g (⅔ cup / 2.8 oz)
• 🫒 Extra-virgin olive oil: 45 ml (3 tbsp / 1.5 fl oz)
• 🍷 Dry white wine: 250 ml (1 cup / 8 fl oz)
• 💧 Water or light fish stock: 120 ml (½ cup / 4 fl oz)
• 🌿 Flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped: 15 g (¼ cup / 0.5 oz)
• 🌶️ Chili flakes (optional): 0.5 g (⅛ tsp / 0.02 oz)
• 🍅 Tomato, grated (optional “red buzara”): 200 g (¾ cup / 7 oz)
• 🍞 Fine breadcrumbs (to lightly thicken, optional): 10 g (1 tbsp / 0.35 oz)
• 🧂 Sea salt: to taste (≈4 g / ¾ tsp)
• ⚫ Black pepper: 1 g (½ tsp / 0.04 oz)
• 🍋 Lemon wedges, to serve: as needed
• 🥖 Crusty bread, for dipping: as needed

Preparation

1. 1️⃣ Aromatics: In a wide pot, warm 🫒 oil over medium. Soften 🧅 shallot 3–4 min; add 🧄 garlic 30 sec until fragrant (no color).
2. 2️⃣ Base: Pour in 🍷 wine and 💧 water/stock; add 🌶️ chili if using. Boil 1 min. (For red buzara, stir in 🍅 grated tomato now.)
3. 3️⃣ Mussels: Add 🦪 mussels, cover, and cook over high heat 4–5 min, shaking the pot once or twice, until shells open.
4. 4️⃣ Finish: Remove from heat. Discard any mussels that stayed closed. Stir in 🌿 parsley, a pinch of 🧂 and ⚫, and sprinkle 🍞 breadcrumbs if you want a slightly thicker, glossy broth.
5. 5️⃣ Serve: Ladle into warm bowls with plenty of broth. Squeeze 🍋 at the table and serve with 🥖 bread.

Total Time

🕒 Prep: 10 min
🔥 Cook: 8–10 min
⏳ Total: 20 min

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