Serves 4

Croutons for Soup:
4 1-inch cubes peasant bread
Extra-virgin olive oil
Pinch of salt

Mussel Soup:
4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons butter
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 bay leaves
48 mussels, washed
11⁄2 cups dry white wine
Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
1⁄2 cup cannellini beans(reserve 1⁄2 cup of liquid)
4 tomatoes, blanched, seeded and diced
4 teaspoons chopped Italian parsley
Salt and white pepper

Croutons for Soup:
Toast bread cubes lightly until golden brown. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt. Set aside.

Mussel Soup:
In a stock pot over medium high heat, gently sauté the minced garlic and bay leaves in oil and butter; do not brown, approximately 2 minutes. Add mussels, white wine and red pepper flakes. Cover and steam until all mussels open, about 7 minutes. Turn off the heat and remove mussels from the stock pot. (leave the cooking liquid in the pot) Extract the mussels from the shells and set aside. Discard the shells.

Add the reserved cannellini bean liquid to the pot, in addition to the beans, diced tomato and chopped parsley. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

To Serve:
Heat soup bowls. Place one crouton in each. Add cleaned mussels to soup and warm through. Ladle the soup over the croutons and serve immediately.