Creamy Mussels and Mushroom Linguini

I never saw this before.....frozen mussel meat. The package says keep frozen until ready to use, so here goes.

340 g  (3/4 lb) frozen mussel meat
1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
4 tbsps olive oil
1 tbsp butter
2 cups mushrooms, thick sliced
1/2 tsp dry thyme
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup 10% cream (or whipping cream)
12 oz linguini
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
2 tsp flour
reserved pasta cooking water

Heat 2 tbsps olive oil and 1 tbsp butter in a skillet.  Add 1/2 the garlic and cook until very lightly browned.  Add frozen mussel meat and sprinkle with thyme.

Cook for about 5 minutes. Remove from pan, cover and keep warm.

Cook pasta according to package directions.  

Add the remaining 2 tbsps olive oil and garlic to the skillet with the mushrooms.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and fry until golden.

Whisk together the broth, cream and flour and add to the pan.

Heat until slightly thickened.  If using whipping cream you may want to use only 1 tsp of flour (or maybe even none at all).  Add 1/4 cup parmesan cheese to the sauce.  If you find your sauce too thick add some of the pasta water, a little at a time, until desired thickness.  I made my sauce with 10% cream and only 1 tsp flour with about 1 ladle full of reserved pasta water making a thin sauce great for mopping up with a nice crusty bread.  Toss your sauce with the drained linguini.

Serve with more parmesan cheese and freshly ground black pepper.