Abel Tasman Mussels Spaghetti

I could taste the salt on my lips, feel the flecks of dry ocean on my skin as the waves rolled in. They had told us to be careful, Cyclone Pam had just hit Vanuatu and the consequences were threatening to approach the northern shores of New Zealand’s South Island. But it was now or never and we decide to set out against the low hanging grey clouds anyway.

The coast along the Abel Tasman National Park is actually quite protected. Named after the first Dutch explorer to reach its shores, the endless bays and small islands just opposite provide relative sanctuary for the inexperienced kayaker. We decide to stick close to the shore to save our energy instead of battling it out with bigger waves further out, our destination Adele island where we might have the chance to spot some penguins. Somehow my parents have other ideas. We had by then travelled for two weeks in New Zealand together and with renewed zest, they were now charging full throttle ahead further and further out into the bay. Kayaking together is the ultimate sports test for a couple. If you are not co-ordinated, paddles start flying in opposite directions and one ultimately blames the other for going the wrong way. If however, you can move in one direction together on a kayak, you can go anywhere in the world together. Apparently my parents at this point seem to have decided to cross towards the islands of Fiji.

In my panic as a daughter who of course assumes her perfectly capable parents will be swept away by some massive cyclone current, I force Nico to change directions and thrust our kayak full speed ahead towards them shouting, “Cooome back come baaaack!” At a distance it seems like my dad is paddling to “1,2,3. 1,2,3” while my mom is swaying to “1,1,2,2. 3,3,4,4.” yet bizarrely they are advancing by pure force, further and further away from us. We give it our all until we finally catch up with them and in the middle of swelling waves I lose it, shouting like a mother who has just found her child that was lost in a mall. Our reaction to fear for someone else often reverts to anger and as we grow older we occasionally seem to move into a protector role when it comes to our parents. I calm down when my dad innocently says he just thought we were going behind Adele island instead of in front. They were definitely up for a bigger challenge than we were.

Now exhausted and united, we all ride calmly together towards the first beach. As if reflecting the new inner peace within me, the heavy clouds part ways and the sun splits open the blue sky, the water turning from black ink to emerald. We slide our kayaks onto the sand and jump quickly into the icy water while the sun can still warm our goosebumps smooth. My parents disappear for a walk down the beach and I think “wow, how romantic,” after the kayak drama and so many years together they still manage to occasionally surprise me. On their way back I slowly realise their intentions were not purely of a romantic nature, but they were on a mission. “Muscoli!” The name for mussels in our italian dialect. The couple that “hunts” together also stays together.

Behind the rocky outcrop at the end of the bay they had discovered a wall of mussels, black shells stacked tightly together, fighting for precious real estate on the half submerged colonies. With childlike glee, we collect enough for dinner and settle down to our sandwiches prepared early that morning in our camper van. Everything seems to tastes better on a beach.

Soon all sign of cyclone activity disappears and we head off to Adele island in search of penguins, but spot funny big black birds with long hibiscus-red beaks instead. The island is alive with song, melodies from invisible birds serenade the trees, carrying their voices in the wind. The island is gently pulsing, as if it is trying to magically lull you into its spell and suddenly you feel completely at peace.

That afternoon, with our mussels carefully packed in the bellies of our kayaks, we set off back to base in Marahau. The waves carry us effortless back to shore and this time our two kayaks are more in sync, heading in the same direction. Mostly.

We check with the park whether we can eat the mussels and are given the all clear, so back at camp we excitedly prepare the ingredients, knowing we are in for a treat. My father painstakingly and expertly cleans every single mussel with his pocket knife, removing the barnacle crusts and the hairy fuzz until they all shine in the sunset glow like hot polished wet coal.

All of us have a task, some to chop the garlic, prepare the sauce, others to make the vinaigrette for dipping or wash the parsley, and soon as the sun disappears we settle down to eat our handiwork, from start to finish. We had to kayak against a cyclone to get these! Well not really, but it definitely was the best spaghetti alle cozze I’ve ever had.

As the old saying goes, the family that eats together stays together, but apparently, also the family that kayaks together.

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ABEL TASMAN MUSSELS SPAGHETTI  \ˌebəl tæzmən məsəlz spəgɛti\

What is better than physically “catching” your own dinner?  This is one of the easiest and most rewarding dishes considering the effort it takes to make if the mussels are already cleaned.  It can be scaled up or down easily and any cooked mussels you do not use for the pasta are delicious dipped in a vinaigrette of lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Serves 4

Ingredients

1/2 kg mussels , cleaned with shell
250g spaghetti
3 tbsp of rock salt
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small red chilli, de-seeded
1 cup chopped long cherry tomatoes
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup italian flat leaf parsley
ground black pepper

Heat a large pan big enough to fit all the mussels on high heat until very hot, no extra liquid is necessary since the mussels will release their water. Throw in the cleaned mussels and cover quickly with a lid. Keep on medium high heat for about 5 minutes until all the shells open. Discard the mussels which have not opened, they are most likely not fresh.  Reserve about 1/2 cup of the mussel broth for the pasta. Remove about a third of the mussels to eat with a vinaigrette of lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper. Perfect appetizer!

With the rest of the mussels, keep one-third in their shell and remove the rest from their shell for the pasta. Prepare a separate large frying pan for the pasta sauce and put a large pot of water on high heat to boil.

While the water is heating up, begin the sauce. Place the frying pan over medium high heat and add the olive oil. Once the olive oil warms up add the garlic and de-seeded chilli. Turn the heat down if the garlic browns too quickly. Let the flavours blend for about a minute then add in the cherry tomatoes and cover with a lid. Let simmer for about 5 minutes then add the reserved mussel broth and the butter. The broth will add all the saltiness we need without extra salt.

During this time once the water boils, add the spaghetti with 3 tbsp rock salt and cook for the time required. Drain and set aside. The sauce should be ready at about the same time the pasta is ready.

When the sauce has thickened slightly, add the de-shelled mussels and cooked spaghetti. Keep the frying pan over low heat and stir in the rest of the mussels in their shell. Rip the parsley by hand over the pasta and turn off the heat. Serve straight from the pan and top if an extra drizzle of olive oil if desired. 

It doesn’t get better than this.