Step One

Soak mussels in a large bowl with cold water and a couple tablespoons of salt for 5 minutes. Move them around a bit, dump the water and repeat to extract as much sand/seaweed as possible.

Step Two

Check each mussel to make sure they are not open or cracked. If they are make sure to throw them away. If more than 10 mussels in a bag are like this I would return them to the store. Pick off any seaweed and scrub the beards as best you can. Rinse one last time and strain.

Step Three

Place your large sauce pot over medium heat. Once hot, add oil and fennel. Sauté for a few minutes then add the white wine. Let the wine reduce by half.

Step Four

Add tomatoes, garlic and half of the torn basil. Reduce heat to low and allow this to stew for about 10 minutes.

Step Four

Dump all the mussels in the pot with the now saucy tomato mix and stir. Cover for 5 minutes.

Step Five

Stir the pot gently. Begin to remove the mussels from the pot and transfer to a large serving bowl (or divide into smaller individual bowls. Ladle ¾ of the broth over the mussels.

Step Six

Add the king crab to the sauce that remains in the pot. I usually add it to the finished plate after letting it sit in the sauce for a couple minutes to absorb the flavor of the broth a bit.

NOTE:
Now that you are ready to eat, you’ll be craving bread to dip. Pick up a nice baguette while you’re out gathering the ingredients, ok?