If you put your ear close (but not too close) to a covered pan full of mussels, olive oil, garlic and a bit of white wine (not too much) over a lively heat, you will hear the sound – a cross between a crack, or that of a rip and an unzipping – of the mussels opening. To begin with, it’s intermittent, so you lift and look under the lid to reassure yourself that they are indeed starting to open … But there are only a few, so the lid goes back on. You shake the pan until, like popcorn, the mussels are off – crack, rip, unzip – at which point, get the lid off and the mussels out, so you can admire the liquor. Taste to see how salty it is and measure how much you have: you want about 200ml, so take some out, reduce or add water to get the proportions and taste to your liking.Spaghetti (or linguine) with mussels is a recipe that benefits from finishing the cooking of the pasta in the sauce, which is also a great technique to know generally, because it can be applied to countless pasta recipes. The benefits of finishing the cooking in the sauce (or broth) are: deep flavour (because the pasta absorbs and gets completely coated in the sauce), shine and a slightly thickened sauce, thanks to the starch that seeps from the pasta and combines with the fat.A nice, big frying pan with sloping sides, a wok, or a pan with a wide base is essential here, so that you have plenty of space to swish and swirl the pasta with the sauce, which in this case is the plentiful mussel liquor produced when those mussels open. To finish cooking it in the mussel liquor, the pasta needs to be removed two minutes before the end of its recommended cooking time, so set a timer and, if possible, use a forked spoon or spider sieve to lift the pasta directly out of the boiling water and straight into the pan of bubbling broth. This recipe is also satisfying because you see the cloudy mussel broth being absorbed by the pasta, and therefore reducing and thickening it with starch.In the last 20 seconds, add the cooked mussel flesh that you have set aside, minced parsley, and lemon juice and zest, and swish again – the smell will be glorious. Or jolt the pan like a professional, so the pasta slides up the far side of the pan or wok, before folding back towards you, like a tidal wave of supper.Spaghetti (or linguine) with mussels, parsley and lemonServes 41-1.2kg mussels