Mussels au Gratin

Sorrento is full of lights, a huge Xmas tree in the main square, streets and stores have been decorated and, as every year, my family is already talking about the Xmas meals, who is going to host the entire family, etc… but, in the meantime, I’ve decided to prepare the “Cozze Gratinate” as an apetizer for the Immacolata day.
It is a simple recipe but delicious because I am going to add a special ingredient that my grand mother was used to include: the grated pecorino cheese!
Christmas is tradition, family, home and Sorrento is the ideal location to experience this magic atmosphere…

Ingredients:

For the Mussels:

2 pounds mussels
1 cup plain bread crumbs
1 tablespoons grated Pecorino cheese
4 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons fresh parsley
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper

Directions:

Wash the mussels under fresh water, shuck them  and leave the fruit on the half shell.
In a bowl, add your ingredients and mix well until the oil has been fully absorbed by the bread crumbs. The bread will look uniformly wet.
Add salt and pepper as desired.
Place all the open mussels in a baking sheet and with a teaspoon put the breadcrumbs in each mussel until the mussel is completely covered.
Bake at 500F for 5-7 minutes, then put under the broiler for 1 minute to brown