Heat 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a high-sided pan until just before the smoking point.
Add the fresh cleaned mussels to the hot oil and cover the pan. Roast the mussels until they are open, then transfer them to a colander and rinse with clean water to wash out the last bit of sand.
In a new pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sauté the shallots until translucent. Then add the diced peppers. Sauté briefly and immediately deglaze with the white wine.
Add the chopped garlic and let the liquid reduce.
When there is only a little white wine left, stir in the tomato paste and thicken the liquid with it.
Now add the strained tomatoes and the cream. Bring to the boil briefly and add the mussels.
Simmer over medium heat for about 6 to 10 minutes with the lid on, stirring in between. Season to taste with salt and pepper, add coarsely chopped marjoram and parsley, stir again and serve. It is best served with fresh baguette or ciabatta, which can be used to absorb the delicious broth after eating the mussels (unfortunately, in the classic Rhenish style, you still have sand from the mussels in the broth), or (black) ribbon noodles. This dish goes well with a semi-dry to dry white wine, or even a tart beer or a light rosé. If the cream is too much for you, you can also use a light, low-fat yogurt, if you are lactose intolerant, do not use any dairy products at all and use a little more tomato paste instead. To bring a bit of freshness to the broth, you can squeeze half a fresh lime and add its juice to the broth if you don’t use dairy products.
