Arroz de Marisco Recipe

Officially, Portugal has the biggest waves in the world.

Its location at the edge of the North Atlantic and unique undersea geography combine to create huge swells of water that are sent crashing towards the coast. The biggest wave ever recorded, in 2017, was off Nazaré just north of Lisbon. That particular wave splashed out at 24 meters. A nice day at the beach, they said...

Unsurprisingly, surfers from all over the world now flock to Portugal every year to ride the waves. A veritable subculture has formed and surfing 'meccas' can now be found in places like Nazaré, Ericeira and Sagres, with all the requisite surf shops and vegan cafés.

Another feature of Portugal's straddling of the ocean is its abundant seafood. Portugal has one of the richest seafood scenes in Europe and arguably the best tribute to this is the Arroz de Marisco, or seafood rice. Brimming with crab, prawns, clams and mussels all bound together in an unctuous red broth with mounds of rice, this is a feast from the ocean and well worth the hour or so it takes to arrive. Served in a huge pot at the centre of the table, there is usually enough for multiple bowlfuls per person - so best to work up an appetite with a morning's surfing beforehand!

Ingredients (2 people)

1 medium-size crab (12-14cm or 5in)

200g prawns

200g clams (cleaned)

200g mussels (cleaned and debearded)

1 red pepper (thinly chopped)

2 medium onions (chopped)

3-4 garlic cloves (chopped)

1 tsp paprika

2 tsp tomato paste

150ml white wine

1L fish stock

200g short or medium grain rice

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Handful of fresh coriander

Preparation (1h)

1. Clean and debeard the mussels (instructions below).

2. Clean the clams (instructions below).

3. Cook the crab in boiling water for 10-15min. When done, separate the claws, legs and shell.

4. Cook the mussels. In a saucepan on medium-high heat, add a tablespoon of olive oil and then the mussels. Cook covered for 3-4min. Remove the mussels from their shells and set aside (discard any that have not opened) but keep the liquid and shells.

4. Prepare the broth. In a large saucepan on medium-high heat, add a tablespoon of olive oil and sauté half the onions and garlic until soft (5min). Add the crab legs and shell, mussel liquid and shells, half the tomato paste and paprika and sauté (5min). Add the white wine and let the alcohol simmer off (1min). Add the fish stock. Turn the heat to low and simmer (20min).

5. Prepare the rice. In a separate saucepan on medium-high, sauté the rest of the onions, garlic and red pepper (5min). Add the tomato paste. Add the rice and coat everything well. Start adding the broth in batches using a ladle or large spoon. Keep adding broth until the rice is cooked, which should take between 10-30min depending on the variety used. Finally, time the addition of the seafood as follows: prawns (approx. 5min from the end), crab (2min from the end), clams and mussels (right at the end).

6. Garnish with fresh coriander. Serve immediately.

Cleaning and debearding mussels: Use a stiff brush or blunt knife to scrub the mussels and remove any dirt, grit and barnacles. Pull out the strand of hair from the mouth known as the 'beard'. Mussels are of course still alive when buying fresh, so clean them under cold running water (keeping them submerged in water will kill them). Tap each mussel gently and discard any that do not close.

Cleaning clams: Place the clams in a bowl of cold salted water for 20min. Then rinse thoroughly under cold running water. Repeat process 2-3 times until no more sand or grit collects at the bottom of the bowl. Tap each clam gently and discard any that do not close.

TIP: For fresh seafood in Brussels, the Poissonerie d'Agadir (Chaussée de Wavre 213) always has excellent choice, very helpful staff and reasonable prices.