Ingredients:

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
For the sauce:

 1        cup           olive oil
 1        medium        white onion, finely diced
 3        cloves        garlic, minced
 2        tablespoons   chopped fresh parsley
 1                      red pepper, seeded and diced
 1                      green pepper, seeded and diced
 1                      yellow pepper, seeded and diced
 1        tablespoon    coarse ground black pepper
 1        teaspoon      fresh thyme leaves
 1        tablespoon    dried Italian herbs
 1        cup           tomato puree
28        ounces        diced tomatoes

For the mussels:

 1        cup           white wine
 2        tablespoons   chopped fresh parsley
 1        clove         garlic, minced
 1        tablespoon    coarse sea salt
   1/2    cup           water
 2        pounds        New Zealand green-lip mussels or black mussels

Preparation:

To make the sauce: In a heavy pot, heat the olive oil. Add the onion, garlic and parsley and saute on medium-high heat until the onions soften. Add the red, green and yellow peppers and saute again for 5 minutes. When the liquid starts coming out of the peppers, add black pepper, thyme and herbs and mix well. Saute for 8 to 10 minutes; add tomato puree. (The mixture should be sticky and have some depth.) Cook over medium heat until it starts to bubble, stirring frequently to combine. Add the diced tomatoes and cook for 20 minutes. Remove sauce from heat.

To make the mussels: In a separate large pan, add wine, parsley, garlic, sea salt and water and bring to a boil. Add mussels and cook over medium-low heat, covered, for 5 to 10 minutes or until mussels open. Add the sauce and serve immediately.