Arroz de Marisco

Ingredients

• 300g arroz carolino or arborio rice
• 500g raw shell-on prawns
• 500g clams, purged
• 500g mussels, scrubbed and debearded
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 red pepper, finely diced
• 400g tinned chopped tomatoes
• 150ml dry white wine
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp piri-piri sauce or 1 small red chilli, chopped
• 80ml olive oil
• 1 large bunch coriander, stalks and leaves separated
• 1.4 litres water
• Salt

Before you cook

• Soak the clams in heavily salted cold water for 1 hour, then rinse them and discard any that stay open when tapped.
• Scrub the mussels and pull away the beards, discarding any with broken shells.
• Peel the prawns and keep every head and shell.
• Devein the peeled prawns and keep them covered in the fridge.
• Finely chop the onion, garlic and red pepper.
• Separate the coriander stalks from the leaves and chop each finely, keeping them apart.

Steps

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a saucepan over high heat.
2. Add the prawn heads and shells and fry them for 4 minutes, pressing down hard with a wooden spoon to crush the heads and release their juices.
3. Pour in the water and add the coriander stalks and the bay leaf.
4. Simmer the stock for 25 minutes, then strain it through a sieve into a jug and discard the shells.
5. Warm the remaining olive oil in a wide heavy pot over medium-low heat.
6. Add the onion and red pepper with a pinch of salt and cook them for 12 minutes until soft and sweet.
7. Stir in the garlic and the piri-piri and cook for 2 minutes.
8. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes until the mixture is thick and no longer watery.
9. Pour in the white wine and boil it for 3 minutes.
10. Tip in the rice and stir it through the base for 1 minute so every grain is coated.
11. Pour in 1.2 litres of the hot prawn stock and bring the pot to a boil.
12. Simmer briskly for 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, and top up with more stock if it looks tight.
13. Add the clams and mussels and put the lid on.
14. Cook for 4 minutes until the shells have opened, discarding any that stay shut.
15. Scatter the peeled prawns over the top and stir them under the surface.
16. Cook for 2 minutes more until the prawns turn pink and opaque.
17. Check the consistency, which should be loose and soupy rather than thick, and loosen it with hot stock if needed.
18. Taste and season with salt.
19. Stir through most of the chopped coriander leaves and take the pot off the heat.
20. Scatter the last of the coriander over the top and take the whole pot to the table.