Mussels au gratin (Cozze gratinate)

1. Scrub the mussels thoroughly under cold running water and pull off their beards; discard any that are open and don't close when tapped, as well as any with broken shells.

2. Put them in a large lidded pan with the white wine and cook, covered, over high heat for 3-4 minutes until they open (discard any that stay closed); strain the cooking liquid through a fine sieve and set aside.

3. Snap off the empty top shells and arrange the mussels on the half shell on a baking tray; preheat the oven grill to 230 °C.

4. In a bowl, mix the breadcrumbs, parmesan, very finely chopped garlic and parsley, a little pepper, 3 tablespoons of olive oil and 2-3 tablespoons of the strained cooking liquid into moist crumbs.

5. Top each mussel with a teaspoon of the crumbs, press down lightly and drizzle with the remaining oil.

6. Grill for 5-7 minutes until golden and crisp on top, and serve at once, piping hot.

Tip: The mussels are salty enough from their cooking liquid, so don't salt the crumbs; for a bigger batch, the opened and filled mussels can wait in the fridge for a few hours before grilling.