Arroz de marisco, Portuguese seafood rice

Ingredients

• 250 g of mussels (or other shellfish)
• 1 liter of water
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 3 tomatoes
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 teaspoon of mild paprika
• One bay leaf
• 1 onion
• 250 ml of white wine
• salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 500 g of fish fillets (ideally monkfish heads)
• 200 g of shrimp
• 8 large shrimp
• 12 mussels
• 150 g of mussels
• 2 crabs
• 1 pre-cooked lobster
• 250 g of rice
• 1 bunch of cilantro
• 1 tablespoon of vinegar

Bring 500 ml of water to a boil, and add the mussels. Cook until the meat separates from the shells. Reserve the cooking water.

Finely chop the bay leaf.

Cut the tomatoes in half, then plunge them into boiling water until the skin starts to split, then cool them, peel them, remove the seeds, and dice them.

Peel and chop the garlic and onion.

Heat olive oil in a saucepan and sauté the onion and garlic until softened.

Add the tomatoes, let them simmer, and season with salt, pepper, paprika, and bay leaf.

Pour the in the white wine and 500 ml of water, add the fish pieces and let simmer for a moment.

Strain the sauce, reserving the tomatoes. Add a little of the cooking liquid and the vinegar, then let it reduce.

Add the shrimp and crab, and let them cook for a few minutes. Then add the thoroughly cleaned mussels and clams, and finally the lobster and scallops. Cook for another 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the rice in a separate saucepan.

Arrange the seafood on a warm plate, sprinkle with chopped cilantro, and serve with the rice.