Linguine with basil and lemon with mussels

Clean the mussels with a brush, remove the beard and open them in a pot with a little extra virgin olive oil and the basil stems.

Shell the mussels, strain the cooking liquid and set aside.

In a small saucepan, bring a little water to the boil, immerse the basil leaves for one minute, then transfer them to ice water.

Drain, pat dry with a tea towel and prepare the basil emulsion by blending the leaves with a little salt, some of the mussel cooking liquid and a drizzle of oil.

In the same boiling water, blanch the cherry tomatoes too, drain them, peel them, cut them into pieces, removing the seeds, and set aside.

Cook the pasta until al dente; in a pan with a little oil, add the garlic and let it flavour, then pour in the cherry tomatoes and after a few minutes the mussel cooking liquid.

Drain the pasta with tongs after 3 minutes and continue cooking in the pan, adding more mussel cooking liquid if necessary.

One minute before turning off the heat, add the shelled mussels and the basil emulsion.