Spaghetti with Mussels and Pecorino

Method

1. Clean the mussels: pull off the beard and scrub one mussel against another under a thin stream of cold water to remove encrustations.
2. Blanch the cherry tomatoes: make a cross cut on each, blanch in boiling water for about 10 seconds, then transfer to ice water. Peel off the skins and set aside.
3. In a large pan, heat extra virgin olive oil with one whole clove of garlic and the basil stems (reserve the leaves for later).
4. Add the cleaned mussels to the pan, cover, and cook over high heat until they open. Remove from heat.
5. Shell the mussels completely (remove from shells) and set aside. Strain the mussel cooking liquid through a fine sieve to remove any impurities; reserve the liquid.
6. Cook the spaghetti in a large pot of boiling salted water according to package directions until al dente.
7. In another pan, heat a drizzle of olive oil and grate half a clove of garlic. Add the peeled cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters, and sauté gently for a minute.
8. Add a splash of the reserved mussel cooking liquid to the tomato pan, then drain the spaghetti (reserve some pasta water if needed) and transfer to the pan.
9. Toss the pasta with the tomatoes, adding a pinch of chili pepper (fresh or dried). Taste and adjust salt — the mussel liquid is already salty.
10. Add the shelled mussels to the pan and toss to combine.
11. Grate a generous amount of Pecorino Romano over the pasta and toss vigorously to create a creamy emulsion. Add a little more mussel cooking liquid if needed for creaminess.
12. Tear fresh basil leaves over the pasta, toss once more, and serve immediately with extra grated pecorino and basil leaves on top.