Riso patate e cozze

Riso, patate e cozze is a typical dish of the Pugliese cuisine, greatly cherished and known as ‘tiella’ in the local dialect. Here is the recipe to prepare it:

Ingredients

• 500 g of rice (preferably a type that holds up well during cooking, such as arborio or carnaroli)
• 1 kg of mussels
• 300 g of potatoes
• 1 onion
• 400 g of peeled tomatoes or tomato puree
• Extra virgin olive oil as needed
• Salt as needed
• Pepper as needed
• Chopped parsley as needed (optional)
• Water as needed

Preparation

1. Clean the mussels thoroughly, removing any external residue and pulling out the byssus (filament) that protrudes between the two shells. Then leave them in a bowl with salt water for a few hours to lose the residual sand.
2. Subsequently, in a large pan, sauté a finely chopped onion in extra virgin olive oil. When the onion becomes transparent, add the mussels and let them open on high heat.
3. Once open, remove from heat and shell most of them, keeping some whole for the final decoration of the dish.
4. Filter the water released by the mussels and set it aside, it will be used later to cook the rice, giving it an intense sea flavor.
5. In the meantime, slice the potatoes thinly and distribute them on the bottom of a baking dish, season lightly with salt and pepper.
6. Spread over the potatoes a layer of rice, then one of peeled tomatoes or puree, and another of shelled mussels. Continue with the layers until all ingredients are used up.
7. Drizzle everything with a dash of oil and, if necessary, adjust the salt and pepper levels.
8. Preheat the oven to 200 °C.
9. Delicately pour the filtered mussel water over the mixture, along with additional water until everything is covered.
10. Bake the tiella and let it cook for about 30 minutes, or until the rice and potatoes are cooked and the liquid has been completely absorbed.

Before serving, you can garnish your tiella with chopped parsley to add a touch of freshness and a beautiful color to the dish.

Curiosity

The name “tiella” comes from the container in which this dish is prepared, which is a terracotta pan. This type of pan helps to evenly distribute heat during cooking, giving the dish a particular consistency and a unique flavor. Tiella is a dish from the peasant tradition, which skillfully mixes the fruits of the earth with those of the sea.

Enjoy your meal!