We love how a few simple ingredients like coconut milk and curry paste can turn an at-home dish into a Thai delight. Any basil will taste delicious in this recipe, but use Thai basil if you can find it. Make it a meal: Spoon over soba noodles or rice noodles.

Makes 4 servings

ACTIVE TIME: 40 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 40 minutes

EASE OF PREPARATION: Easy

2 teaspoons peanut oil or canola oil
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
2 scallions, thinly sliced, whites and greens separated
Zest and juice of 1 lime
1-2 teaspoons Thai red curry paste (see Shopping Tip)
1 14-ounce can lite coconut milk
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons fish sauce (see Tip)
4 pounds mussels, scrubbed and debearded (see Tip)
6 cups trimmed watercress (1-2 bunches) or trimmed spinach
2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil for garnish

1. Heat oil in a large high-sided skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add garlic, scallion whites, lime zest and curry paste to taste; cook until fragrant and the paste is sizzling, 1 to 3 minutes. Add lime juice, coconut milk, brown sugar and fish sauce. Bring to a boil and let cook for 2 minutes.
2. Add mussels, return to a simmer, cover and cook for 6 minutes. Spread watercress (or spinach) over the mussels, cover and cook until slightly wilted, about 4 minutes; stir into the mussels. (Discard any unopened mussels.) Serve garnished with scallion greens and basil.

NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 273 calories; 13 g fat (6 g sat, 2 g mono); 48 mg cholesterol; 16 g carbohydrate; 24 g protein; 1 g fiber; 499 mg sodium; 438 mg potassium.


Nutrition bonus: Selenium (108% daily value), Vitamin A & Vitamin C (60% dv), Iron (35% dv), Folate (19% dv), good source of omega-3s.


1 Carbohydrate Serving


Exchanges: 1 other carbohydrate, 3 very lean meat, 2 fat

TIP: Shopping Tip: Red curry paste and fish sauce, typical Thai ingredients, can be found in the Asian food section of large supermarkets.

Tip: To clean mussels, scrub with a stiff brush under cold running water. Scrape off any barnacles using the shell of another mussel. Pull off the fuzzy beard from each one (some mussels may not have a beard).

Loved it!

Katie, Herndon, VA