Ingredients  
1 onion, finely chopped 
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped 
1 tsp chilli flakes (or if you don’t want a spicy kick reduce to ½ or ¼ tsp) 
2 tbsp tomato purée  
1 tin of chopped or pulped tomatoes plus 200ml of water or 700g passata 
1 chicken or vegetable stock pot 
8-10 grinds of black pepper 
1 tsp mixed herbs or mixed Italian herbs, lightly crushed between your fingers 
1-2 tsps sugar  
1 parmesan rind or 1 tbsp grated parmesan 
400g long pasta such as spaghetti, linguine etc 
2 boxes of pre-prepared mussels (any flavour as you will be washing off the sauce) or 1 kg of fresh mussels, cleaned and debearded 
Salt 
Pepper 

Method  
Fry off an onion on a medium heat until it is translucent. 

Add the garlic and cook for another few minutes.  I LOVE garlic but if you don’t love then just put in 1 clove.   

Add the chilli flakes and tomato purée, stir and cook for a few minutes.   

Add the tinned tomatoes, pepper, water, stock pot, sugar and crushed mixed herbs and cook on a medium heat until reduced and thicker, stirring from time to time. 

After your tomatoes have thickened somewhat, reduce the heat to low and put a large heavily salted pot of water on to boil and wash the mussels free of whatever sauce they come in.  Add the pasta to the water and cook your pasta according to the packet instructions. 

The mussels will take around 7 minutes to cook so when your pasta has 7 minutes left put the washed mussels in to your tomato sauce taking care to leave any broken shell out of the sauce.  Thoroughly mix, put the lid on, add 1 ladle of the pasta water (½ a cup) and stir through your mussels.  Put the lid back on and turn up the heat. 

When your pasta is cooked to your liking, drain and put the pasta into the mussels and carefully using tongs mix.  Check for seasoning just before serving.