Chef Deb's Red Hot Mussel Stew Cuts Through Dreary Winter Blues

Photo by Leslie Kelly

Chef Deb Breuler's cousin Mary Palmer is helping out at the new Avalon, which opened earlier this month in West Seattle.

Seasoned chef Deb Breuler calls her menu at the new Avalon in West Seattle "rustic Northwest," and this mussel dish proves that point. It's a starter, along with duck flatbread, crispy calamari salad, and crab/cod cakes served on a tangle of arugula. On the entree lineup, there's a Carlton Farms pork tenderloin with butternut squash and Brussels sprouts, Syrah-braised short ribs, grilled sturgeon with anchovy butter, and potato-encrusted scallops. Hell yum!

Read part one and part two of this week's Grillaxin Q&A for more.

Avalon Mussel Stew

1/8 cup olive oil
1 cup medium diced yellow onion
1 cup medium diced fennel bulb
1/8 cup chopped garlic

1 cup cooked chorizo crumbles
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 cup dry white wine
1 can (28 ounce) crushed tomatoes
2 cups clam broth
1 teaspoon salt
1 can (14 ounces) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
4 cups Swiss chard, chopped
1 ½ pound Penn cove mussels, scrubbed and de-bearded
4 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

Heat a large stock pot over medium heat, add olive oil. Add onions and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and chorizo crumbles, sauté for 2 minutes. Add white wine, simmer for 2 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes and clam broth. Bring to a boil and add mussels, chickpeas, and Swiss chard. Cover and simmer until all mussels open. Add parsley and salt. Serve in large bowls with toasted or grilled bread.

Serves 6.