This mussels and rice recipe is one I learned from my mother, who learned it from her mother-in-law. Like many family recipes, it wasn’t originally written down with exact measurements. Everything was cooked by eye, so after making the dish a few times myself, I worked out the quantities I use today.
The combination itself is simple – mussels, rice, tomato, green pepper, onion, and plenty of fresh herbs. The mussels and their cooking liquid give the rice most of its flavor, while the tomato comes through without overpowering the dish.
Lovage is especially important in our version. In our family, we’ve traditionally cooked mussels with fresh lovage, and the two are so closely connected for me that the smell of lovage immediately makes me think of mussels.
What You’ll Need
Fresh mussels: Clean the mussels before cooking, removing any that shouldn’t be cooked. If you haven’t prepared live mussels before, see our How to Clean and Prepare Mussels guide.
Rice: I normally use regular white rice for this recipe. I’ve also made it successfully with Baldo rice, but you don’t need to buy a special variety. The finished rice should have distinct grains rather than a soft or mushy texture.
Tomatoes: I remove the seeds and grate the tomatoes. There’s no need to peel them first – the skin stays behind against the grater and can simply be discarded.
Green pepper: I use fresh sweet green pepper in this recipe.
Lovage: Fresh lovage goes into the pot while the mussels cook. I use whole sprigs for their aroma and remove them when I strain the cooking liquid.
Parsley: Fresh parsley goes in after the pot comes off the heat, giving the finished dish a fresh herbal flavor.
How to Make Mussels and Rice
Cook the Mussels
Place the cleaned mussels in a large pot with 1/2 cup water, the salt, and whole sprigs of fresh lovage. Cover and cook until the mussels open – this usually takes around 7 minutes for this recipe, but watch the mussels rather than relying only on the clock.
If you’d like a closer look at the basic method and the visual signs I use when cooking fresh mussels, see How to Cook Fresh Mussels.
Remove the mussels from the pot and strain their cooking liquid well. Discard the cooked lovage. Set aside about 25 mussels in their shells, then remove the meat from the rest.
Start the Rice
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and saute the onion for 5 minutes. Add the rice and cook it for no more than 1 minute.
Immediately add the carrots, green pepper, and grated tomatoes. Measure the strained mussel cooking liquid and add enough water to make 3 cups total liquid, then pour it into the pan and season with black pepper.
I usually get around 2 cups of cooking liquid from the mussels, but I don’t use that as a fixed measurement. What matters here is having 3 cups of total liquid for 1 cup of rice.
Add the Mussels in Two Stages
Add the reserved mussels in their shells and stir them through the rice. Cover the pan, reduce the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes without opening the lid or stirring again.
Adding these mussels first is intentional. As the rice begins to swell, some of it works its way inside the open shells, so you end up with mussels holding both their meat and some of the seasoned rice.
After 10 minutes, add the reserved mussel meat and stir again to distribute it through the rice. Cover and cook for another 7-8 minutes.
How to Tell When the Rice Is Ready
The rice usually takes about 15-20 minutes in total, but I still taste it rather than relying entirely on the clock. It should be cooked through while the grains remain distinct rather than becoming soft and mushy.
There should still be some liquid in the pan at this point. Remove it from the heat, stir in the fresh parsley, cover, and let the dish rest for 15 minutes.
During the rest, the rice continues absorbing the remaining liquid. This is why I don’t wait for the pan to look completely dry before taking it off the heat.
Serving Mussels and Rice
We usually make this for the meal we’re about to serve rather than deliberately cooking extra for leftovers.
One fun way we eat it is to use an empty mussel shell as a little scoop for the rice. You can, of course, simply eat it with a fork instead. Serve the dish warm, with fresh parsley and a lemon wedge if you like.
For more ways to cook with fresh mussels, see the Mussels Recipes collection. For something quite different, try our Mussels and Orzo salad with tomatoes, Kalamata olives, red onion, and dill.
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Bulgarian Mussels and Rice Recipe with Lovage
Ingredients
- 4 lb mussels fresh
- 1 cup white rice
- 1 cup tomatoes seeded and grated
- 1/4 cup carrots chopped
- 1 cup onions finely chopped
- 2 tbsp green sweet pepper chopped
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup parsley fresh, chopped
- 1 cup lovage fresh sprigs
- 1/2 cup water for cooking the mussels
- water as needed to bring the strained mussel liquid to 3 cups total
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Run the mussels under cold water and clean them, removing the beards and discarding any that should not be cooked.
- Pour 1/2 cup water into a large pot and add the salt. Place the lovage sprigs on top with the stem ends facing down, then add the mussels. Leave about 2-3 inches of space between the mussels and the top of the pot. Cover and cook until the mussels open - usually around 7 minutes for this recipe, but watch the mussels rather than relying only on the clock.
- Remove the mussels and strain the cooking liquid well. Discard the cooked lovage and reserve all of the strained liquid.
- Set aside about 25 mussels in their shells. Remove the meat from the remaining mussels and set it aside separately.
- Wash and drain the rice. Finely chop the onion, carrots, and green pepper. Remove the seeds from the tomatoes and grate them, discarding the skin left on the grater.
- Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and saute the onion for 5 minutes.
- Add the rice and cook for no more than 1 minute.
- Immediately stir in the carrots, green pepper, and grated tomatoes. Measure the reserved mussel cooking liquid and add enough water to make 3 cups total. Pour the liquid into the pan and season with the black pepper.
- Add the reserved mussels in their shells and stir them through the rice. Cover, reduce the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes without opening the lid or stirring again. As the rice begins to swell, some of it will work its way inside the open shells.
- Add the reserved mussel meat and stir again to distribute it through the rice. Cover and cook for another 7-8 minutes. Taste the rice toward the end - it should be cooked through but the grains should remain distinct rather than becoming mushy.
- Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the fresh parsley, cover, and let the dish rest for 15 minutes. The rice will continue absorbing some of the remaining liquid as it rests.
- Serve warm, garnished with parsley and a lemon wedge if desired. We sometimes use an empty mussel shell instead of a fork to scoop up the rice.
Notes
- Cooking the mussels: The mussels are steamed rather than boiled. A glass lid makes it easier to watch the shells open without lifting the lid. Leave about 2-3 inches of space between the mussels and the top of the pot.
- Cooking liquid: The amount of liquid released by the mussels varies. Strain and reserve all of it, then add enough water to make 3 cups total liquid for 1 cup of rice.
- Checking the rice: Taste the rice toward the end of cooking. The grains should be tender but still distinct. Let the finished dish rest, covered, for 15 minutes so the rice can absorb the remaining liquid.
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Nutrition
I do my best to provide you with the nutritional information for recipes but I'm not a certified nutritionist. The nutritional information provided should only be treated as an estimate since it will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.