Mussel Sautée and Chickpea Purée

soak the chickpeas in abundant water in a large soup pot.  Allow to soak at least 10 hours, ideally overnight.   The level of water should be double the level of chickpeas. 
When ready to cook, add the rosemary branches, and allow to boil very gently.  Reduce heat to low (as low as possible) and allow to cook for approximately 1 hour. 
The chickpeas will obviously need to be very soft in order to be puree'd, so cook the beans as long as required to achieve a soft consistency.  
About halfway through the cooking process, add 1 1/2 tsp salt and stir.  Once beans have reached desired consistency, remove pan from heat and keep pan covered to keep chickpeas warm.

Remove the little beards from each mussel, and wash thoroughly under cold running water, using the back of a kitchen knife to energetically scrape the shells.  In a large sauté' pan, place the mussels over medium-high heat. 
Cover the pan, and allow the mussel shells to open (cook about 4-5 minutes).   Drain the mussels, and reserve the liquid that has formed in the pan.   
Using a paper towel, dry out the inside of the sauté' pan, add enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan (5 tbs olive oil), and add garlic clove. 
Allow garlic to turn light golden brown, remove and replace with mussels and parsley, add a splash of white wine and 1/2 cup of the reserved cooking liquid from the mussels during the opening of the shells.  
Cook over medium heat for approximately 3 minutes, adjust salt and pepper to taste, and be careful not to remove mussels from their shells when stirring occasionally.


Using a slotted spoon, collect the chickpeas and transfer to a stainless steel bowl.  Begin puree'ing the chickpeas, adding some of their cooking liquid from time to time.  The chickpeas should have a relatively dense consistency, so be careful not to add too much cooking liquid.   Add olive oil to taste, and adjust for salt and pepper.   Continue stirring the puree' until the olive oil has been absorbed by the puree'.   

In a pasta dish, place a round biscuit cutter with a diameter approximately 12-15cm wide.   Create a layer of chickpea puree' about 1.5 cm in height.  Drizzle with olive oil and give a dusting of black pepper to dish.  Remove the biscuit cutter, and place 3 or 4 muscle shells on top of the cream, then another 3 or 5 mussels without shells.

Serve at once.