Mussels with Swiss chard and Italian parsley

Hongkong has many beaches and bays that used to be so clean that people could cultivate oysters and dig for mussels, now it's a history since the city has over-developed. But suprisingly, I saw fishing for shrimp in indoor tank when I went back home last year. You may expect to see Caribbean-style interior... errr... no, you only found graffiti on cement walls, foldable plastic chairs lined along the tank (it's half of the size of a standard swimming pool) and speakers at four corners blasting pop songs. This place was very popular by young people. They came in, took their seats, fishing for 2 or 3 hours, no talking loud or bounching around, just very quiet! I was glad that they found an oasis probably not in this city but at least in their heart. That day I caught no shrimp... these mussels weren't from that tank either ... they're bought from a store yesterday and then transformed to another beautiful dish simply by adding fresh vegetable and herb. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I do!

Recipe for mussels with Swiss chard and Italian parsley

(yield for 2 servings as the main course)

• two dozens fresh musselsl (mine medium-small size), cleaned.
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely diced
• 1/2 cup of white wine
• 150 g Swiss chard
• 3 slices of bacon, finely diced
• 100 g Italian parsley
• 2/3 cup bread crumb (I grated it from artisanal bread)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 15 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 - 3 tbps of grated Pecorino Romano
• 2 - 3 tbps of grated Parmesan Reggiano
• some olive oil, and some butter for saute

Directions

1. Heat a large skillet, add some olive oil, saute the diced garlic over low heat for about 30 seconds. Raise up the heat, add mussels and white wine. Once the mussels open and the liquid starts boiling, scoop the mussels (they don't need to be fully cooked) in a big bowl, save the juice in another bowl.
2. Heat the skillet, add a bit oil, saute the Swiss chard with a pinch of salt. When it softens, put it in a plate and let cool.
3. Finely diced the Swiss chard and parsley (see the above photo, left)
4. In a big mixing bowl, combine the Swiss chard, parsley, bread crumb, two cheeses and bacon bites. The mixture is not dry but not wet, and able to hold the shape when press it. Spoon the mixture into mussels, tie them with strings (see the photo, right)
5. Heat two tablespoons of butter in a large skillet, saute the garlic cloves over low heat until they turn golden. Raise up the heat, add tomatoes, saute for two minutes, add mussels and fry for a minute, pour in the juice that you saved early, cover and simmer until the mussels fully cooked (mine took 10 minutes). Salt and pepper to taste.
6. Serve hot with crusty bread.