I came to appreciate (love!) mussels pretty late in life, and I’m still trying to figure out if I love the mussel itself, or the many delicious sauces they come with. I’ve gone down the white wine, lemon and garlic road, and then addicted myself to in romesco sauce. Fra Diavolo? Done! Red curry sauce . . . meh. And I made them several times for company with a dijon cream sauce. But then, I turned on the tv one Saturday morning and watched Chef Jose Andres making these mussels — and I haven’t looked back! Potatoes, loads of olive oil, pimenton . . . perfection! Easy and delicious! And while you’re enjoying these, open your phone and send a donation to Andres’ very important charity — World Central Kitchen — my favorite charity.

Ingredients

measuring cup

Servings: 4 generous appetizer servings

• 8 small (about 1 pound) fingerling potatoes, scrubbed
• Coarse sea salt
• 1 pound (32-count) mussels
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup Spanish extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1/2 teaspoon Spanish smoked paprika (pimenton), plus more to taste

Directions

1. Fill a medium saucepan with water and add the potatoes and enough sea salt so that the water is fairly salty; bring to a boil over high heat and cook for about 25 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through. Drain the potatoes and peel them as soon as they are cool enough to handle (so the skins come off easily). Transfer to a large mixing bowl and coarsely mash with a fork.
2. Clean and debeard the mussels and rinse in a colander under cold running water, discarding any whose shells are cracked or do not close tightly when tapped. 
3. Combine the mussels, bay leaf and 1 cup of water in a medium pot. Bring to a boil, uncovered, over high heat. As the mussels are steamed open, transfer them to a mixing bowl. When all the mussels are done (3 to 4 minutes, total), use a paring knife to remove them from their shells; do this over the mixing bowl to reserve any juices. Discard the shells and place the mussels in a small bowl; strain the collected juices and transfer them to a small saucepan; there should be about 1/4 cup. (If desired, you may use some of the mussel cooking liquid, too, if you would like more sauce. Strain before using.) Cook over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, until the juices have reduced to about 1 tablespoon. Transfer to a deep bowl; whisk in the olive oil and smoked paprika until well combined. Add the mussels; set aside to marinate for about 5 minutes. When ready to serve, divide the potatoes among individual plates. Top with about 8 mussels per serving. Spoon the marinade over the mussels and potatoes. Sprinkle with smoked paprika and sea salt and drizzle with olive oil. Serve immediately.