Elly's spaghetti with mussels, chickpeas & tomatoes

1. Bring a large pan of water to the boil and season with salt. Add the spaghetti and cook for 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, open the pouches of mussels and tip into a large saucepan. Add the tomatoes, chickpeas and garlic (if using). Cover and simmer gently over a medium heat for 5 minutes.

3. Take off the heat and remove the mussels from the pan, discarding any that haven’t opened. Remove the meat from (most of) the shells, adding it back to the pan with the tomatoes, garlic and chickpeas (keep a few mussels in their shells for garnish). Discard the empty shells. Cover, then place over a very low heat to keep warm if the pasta is still cooking.

4. Drain the spaghetti, reserving about 150ml of cooking water, and add the pasta to the mussels. Toss well with tongs, adding enough pasta cooking water to make a soupy consistency. Add the parsley and plenty of black pepper. Divide between 4 bowls, drizzle with a little olive oil and garnish with the shell-on mussels. Sprinkle with sea salt flakes and then serve immediately.