Tiella

Raw layers in an open dish, the rice cooking in the liquor the mussels release.

Shellfish. Not vegetarian — contains pecorino whose rennet the source does not name, shellfish.

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg mussels, scrubbed
• 600 g waxy potatoes, sliced 3 mm
• 250 g risotto rice, unwashed
• 2 onions, sliced thinly
• 2 courgettes, sliced
• 300 g tomatoes, sliced
• 60 g pecorino, grated
• a bunch of parsley
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons salt
• black pepper

Method

1. OPEN THE MUSSELS RAW WITH A KNIFE, keeping each on its half shell and SAVING EVERY DROP of the liquor in a bowl. Do not steam them open: that liquor is the only liquid in the dish and steaming puts it in the wrong pan.
2. Oil a wide shallow dish and layer, all RAW: onion, potato, courgette, tomato, parsley, a little pecorino and oil.
3. Lay the mussels on their shells over that, then scatter the DRY UNWASHED RICE between and around them so it sits in the gaps.
4. Finish with a second layer of potato overlapping like tiles, then tomato, pecorino, oil and pepper.
5. Pour the mussel liquor over, and only enough water to come two thirds up — about 200 ml. NOTHING IS MOULDED AND NOTHING IS TURNED OUT: this is served from the dish it baked in, which is what the name means.
6. Bake at 190C for 1 hour. The rice cooks in the mussel liquor and the water the vegetables give up, which is why the quantity of added water matters so much.
7. Rest 15 minutes. Eat it warm, not hot.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Italy · All recipes