Gratinated Mussels

This is an other recipe from the South of Italy, where bread crumbs and olive oil are the main ingredients.
It s a very easy appetiser/starter, you can prepare it in advance and bake it just before serving. 

Ingredients:
(for 4 generous portions)
About 1 Kilo /35.27 oz Mussels, scrubbed and washed very well removing the beard and scraping the outside
1 cup Breadcrumbs (or more)
50 gr /1.76 oz Grated Parmigiano Reggiano
25 gr /0.88 oz Grated Pecorino
3 Cloves of Garlic
Hot Pepper Flakes
Parsley
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt

How to:

0) Clean the mussel very well!!!

1) Pour 6 spoons of extra virgin olive oil in a frying pan, heat over the medium heat, add the 2 garlic cloves, a pinch of pepper flakes and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the mussels, cover up with a lid and let them cook for 3 to 5 minutes until they all open. Let them cool.

2) Put the breadcrumbs in your food processor, add grated pecorino, grated Parmigiano, the parsley, salt, ½ clove of garlic, extra virgin olive oil and 4-5 spoons of the cooking liquid from the mussels. Mix at medium speed for about 2-3 minutes, taste and season with salt if necessary.The mixture should be soft enough to keep the shape; if it appears too runny, add some more breadcrumbs, if it's too dry, add some more oil.

3) Discard the closed mussels, remove the empty half shell from all the mussels and put those with shellfish in a baking dish.

     4) Also, I detach the mussel from the shell so it will be easier to eat it.

5) Fill the shells with the breadcrumbs mixture and drizzle some olive oil on top. 

6) Preheat the grill 200 C (392 F) and bake for about 8-10 minutes until golden brown.

Once the mussels are done, transfer to a serving dish and finish by drizzling over some olive oil. Serve hot!