Ingredients

• 1kg/2¼lb mussels
• cleaned - scrubbed with beards removed
• 2 shallots
• finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• finely chopped
• 1 bunch basil
• picked
• 200ml/7fl oz dry white wine
• 50g/2oz butter
• 1 large or 2 small part baked baguettes
• 2 plum tomatoes
• skinned
• de-seeded and diced
• 30 wafer thin slices pancetta (approx 175g/6oz)
• cut in half
• 175g/6oz mozzarella
• grated
• black pepper to season

Directions

• Melt the butter in a large saucepan.
• Add the chopped garlic and shallots and saute (without colour) for one minute.
• Add the drained mussels (discard any that are already open)
• half the basil
• white wine and freshly milled black pepper.
• Bring to the boil over a high heat and then immediately cover and cook for 4 minutes.
• Remove mussels from pan with a slotted spoon and strain off the liquid through a fine sieve into a saucepan.
• Simmer this liquid for 10 minutes over a low heat.
• After 10 minutes add the rest of the basil
• chopped and the tomatoes
• leave to infuse over a low heat for a further 8 minutes
• keep warm.
• In the meantime remove mussels from their shells
• discard any that haven t opened.
• Place each mussel on a piece of the sliced pancetta and roll up. Skewer horizontally onto wooden skewer and repeat until you have 10 mussels on each skewer.
• Place the skewered mussels on a baking sheet.
• Take the baguettes and cut into 6 x 8cm/3¼in barrels. Carefully remove the centres from each leaving ½cm/¼in perimeter around the sides and base. Place on a baking tray and bake as directed on packet
• reducing cooking time by 3 minutes.
• Place mussel skewers under a preheated grill and cook for 2 minutes on either side under a medium heat.
• Sprinkle with mozzarella and flash under the grill for a further minute or until the cheese begins to melt.
• Remove bread from the oven and place in deep serving dishes.
• Pour mussel juice into the centre of the up-right barrel of bread and place skewer of mussels across the top. Serve at once.