Mussels and Chorizo With or Without Pasta

Around My French Table Recipe 8

 This meal was made truly in the French spirit since we bought nearly all the ingredients today at the Farmer's Market: mussels, chorizo, red pepper, onion, garlic, thyme and the accompanying bread (we chose "without pasta").  This recipe was a cinch to make.  The broth was surprisingly flavorful and contained white wine and canned tomatoes (my non-farmers market items).  What really brought a lot of the flavor was the chorizo and it was an essential component of the dish. We found the the best way to enjoy this meal was to remove the mussels from their shells and add the meat to our bowls of broth, making it like a soup or stew, at which point it became easier to eat with a spoon.  Because it was so flavorful and filling I would not recommend having this with pasta- besides, you're dealing with a broth more than a sauce.  Bread was a nice side for this dish and allowed you to sop up the extra broth.  Easily our best Dorie recipe so far, and we look forward to making this again. A real winner.