Leafing through Luigi Sada’s book of La Cucina Pugliese, I couldn’t find riso, patate e cozze (rice, potatoes and mussels). I was looking for rice dishes in primi piatti, lost in the countless, great-sounding recipes for mussels and other shellfish from the heel of Italy – in short, the wrong chapter. This layered bake of rice, sliced potatoes, tomatoes, cheese and mussels is the first recipe in the chapter titled Les Soupes (oddly, in French). Sada crowns riso, patate e cozze, also known as tiella, “the queen of minestre”, and notes that it is made differently from town to town, and that this “mothership recipe” is tiella barese from Puglia’s capital, Bari. It includes courgettes and uses pecorino. Meanwhile, other recipes from Bari remind us that there is no such thing as a definitive version, each suggesting wildly different proportions and all sorts of rice, or not to include courgettes and to use parmesan instead.
What everyone seems to agree on, though, is that a rest brings out the best in tiella – they all advise waiting before eating – as well as the importance of opening the mussels by hand. Several people reassured me that this is just like opening oysters, which, after being defeated by shell-clenched oysters and shamed by a professional shucker, I didn’t find reassuring at all. However, it turns out that if you insert the point of a knife near the hinge, then run the blade between the two shells, mussels, while a faff, are much easier to lever open than oysters. Yet they’re no less dramatic when you pull apart the shells apart and see the soft, secret flesh inside.
The rewards of opening by hand (rather than steaming in a pan) are twofold: first, the mussels cook within the bake and give all their flavour to the other ingredients. The second is their briny liquor – “sea stock”, one friend calls it – which you catch in a bowl as you open the mussels and add to the dish later, with a little (50ml) reserved for the end.
Sada is clear that, while you need enough liquid to cook the ingredients and to create the wonderful, soft consistency, it shouldn’t be troppo brodosa (too brothy). That means keeping an eye out and using a fork to pull back the edge of the bake to check there is about 2cm of liquor at the bottom: if there isn’t, add the remaining 50ml mussel liquor. Or, if it seems a bit watery, spoon away a little of the liquid, though bear in mind that some of the liquor will be absorbed back into the bake while it rests, and while you open the wine.
Rice, potatoes and mussels
Prep 30 min
Cook 40-50 min
Rest 20 min
Serves 4
700g potatoes, peeled and cut into 5mm-thick rounds
1 large white onion, peeled and diced
1 garlic clove, peeled and sliced
250g cherry tomatoes, chopped
Salt
Olive oil
50g parmesan, grated
50g pecorino, grated
A handful of minced parsley
1kg mussels
200g carnaroli or arborio rice
Soak the potatoes in cold water for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix the onion, garlic and tomatoes with a pinch of salt and two tablespoons of olive oil. In another bowl, mix the cheeses and parsley.
Working over a bowl to catch any juices, and using a sharp knife with a pointed or very flat blade, open the mussels by inserting the end of the knife near the hinge on the flat side between the two shells, then run the blade between them. Discard the empty top shells and arrange the bottom ones containing the mussel on a plate. Measure the mussel juices and add warm water to top them up to 200ml of liquid.
Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7. Drain and dry the potatoes and rinse the rice. Select a deep, round, ovenproof dish. Start by scattering a quarter of the tomato and onion mix over the base of the dish. Next, use half the potatoes to make a spiral layer, then zig-zag them with olive oil. Follow with another quarter of the tomato mix, some of the cheese and another zig-zag of oil. Arrange the mussels shell-side down on top in a single layer – if any don’t fit, pull the mussel from its shell and add just the flesh. Sprinkle over the rice, then top that with another quarter each of the tomato mix and the cheese mix, then zig-zag again with olive oil. Make a final layer of potatoes, pour over 150ml of the mussel liquid, then finish with the remaining tomatoes and cheese and a final zig-zag of oil.
Bake for 40 minutes, then leave to rest for at least 20 minutes before serving. While it’s baking, use a fork to pull back the edge of the bake every so often, to check there is about 2cm of liquor at the bottom: if there isn’t, add the remaining 50ml mussel liquid. Or, if it seems a little watery, spoon some of the liquid away, though bear in mind that some of the liquor will be absorbed back into the bake while it’s resting.
