Tiella Barese with Rice, Mussels & Potatoes

📝 Ingredients

• 1 kg mussels
• 250 g arborio rice
• 500 g waxy potatoes
• 3 tomatoes (about 100 g each)
• 1 brown onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 15 g fresh parsley (1 small bunch)
• 50 g grated Parmesan
• 3 tbsp olive oil (1 for the dish, 2 for the top)
• About 500 ml hot water (to top up the mussel juices)
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Baking dish (about 25 × 30 cm)
• Large sauté pan with lid
• Fine sieve
• Measuring jug
• Chopping board
• Aluminium foil

📖 Steps

1. Scrub and rinse the mussels in cold water, pulling off the stringy threads (the 'beard'); discard any that are broken or stay open after a sharp tap on the work surface.
2. Put the mussels in the sauté pan over a high heat, cover and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, shaking the pan now and then, until they have all opened. Drain them over a bowl to catch their juices, then strain the juices through the fine sieve: they often contain a little sand.
3. Shell the mussels, discarding any that stayed closed. Pour the strained juices into the measuring jug and top up with the hot water to make about 700 ml of liquid in total; it is already salted by the mussels. Preheat the oven to 200 °C.
4. Peel the potatoes and cut them into thin 3 mm slices. Slice the tomatoes, finely slice the onion, and chop the garlic and parsley together. Oil the baking dish with 1 tbsp of oil.
5. Spread the onion over the bottom of the dish, then add half the potatoes in overlapping slices. Cover with half the tomatoes, season with pepper and a very little salt, and sprinkle with half the garlic and parsley mixture and a third of the Parmesan.
6. Spread the uncooked rice in an even layer, then the mussels on top. Add the rest of the tomatoes and the garlic and parsley mixture and another third of the Parmesan, then finish with the remaining potato slices, packed tightly.
7. Gently pour the liquid in at the edge of the dish: it should come just below the top layer of potatoes. Sprinkle with the rest of the Parmesan, drizzle with the remaining 2 tbsp of oil and cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes at 200 °C.
8. Remove the foil and bake for a further 20 to 25 minutes, until the top is golden, the liquid absorbed and the rice tender to the bite. Leave to rest for 10 minutes before spooning out, hot or warm as they do in Puglia.