Ingredients:
2 cups dry white wine
4 bay leaves
4 pounds small mussels, scrubbed and debearded
Pinch of saffron threads
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 onion finely chopped
1 cup of parsley finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3/4 pound Italian spaghetti or linguine
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
Instructions:
In a large pot, combine the wine with the bay leaves and bring to a boil. Add the mussels, cover and cook over high heat, shaking the pan a few times, until the mussels open, about 5 minutes. Drain the mussels in a colander set over a medium bowl. Pour the mussel broth into a glass measure. Crumble the saffron into the mussel broth.
Discard any unopened mussels. Pour the melted butter over the mussels and toss to coat. Cover with plastic wrap.
Heat the extra-virgin olive oil in a large, deep skillet. Add the thinly sliced garlic and cook over low heat just until golden brown. Then add onion and continue to cook until onion is soft. Add the crushed red pepper and cook for 1 minute longer. Slowly pour in the reserved mussel broth, stopping when you reach the grit at the bottom of the glass measure. Add the lemon juice and simmer over moderately high heat until the sauce is reduced to about 1 cup, about 8 minutes.
In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the spaghetti just until al dente. Drain the pasta well.
Add the buttered mussels, parsley and the hot spaghetti to the mussel sauce and toss over low heat until the pasta is uniformly coated. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to warmed shallow bowls and serve at once.