Mussels and Pasta with Creamy Wine Sauce

I love seafood and always have a bag, or two, of mussel meat in the freezer. It's fairly inexpensive and is usually found in a case by the fresh fish. This cooks up really quickly, so have everything prepped before starting.

Ingredients :

• 1 ½ ounces linguine pasta
• 4 ounces frozen mussel meat
• 4 teaspoons unsalted butter, divided
• 3 ounces cremini mushrooms
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• ¼ cup dry white wine
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes (Optional)
• ⅓ cup light whipping cream (18%)
• ½ lemon, zested

Directions :

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook linguine at a boil until tender yet firm to the bite, about 11 minutes.
2. Place mussel meat in a fine-mesh strainer and rinse thoroughly with cold water.
3. Melt 1 teaspoon butter in a medium skillet over medium-low heat. Gently warm the mussels until they release their water, about 3 minutes. Remove to a bowl and set aside.
4. Wipe out the skillet with paper towels. Melt remaining 3 teaspoons butter in the skillet. Cut any large mushrooms into smaller pieces. Add to the skillet and sprinkle with pepper. Cook until starting to soften, 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Pour wine into the skillet, add red pepper flakes, and cook until wine has reduced by half, 2 to 3 minutes. Pour in cream and add mussels. Heat until warmed through, 1 to 2 minutes.
5. Use tongs to lift linguine out of the pot and add to the skillet with some of the cooking water. Toss to coat with sauce. Plate and garnish with lemon zest.