Tiella Barese
A rustic Apulian one-pot seafood and rice dish layered with mussels, shrimp, and squid. Slow-cooked until the rice absorbs briny flavors and tender vegetables meld together.
- Total time
- 55 min
- Servings
- 4
- Calories
- 428
- Protein
- 32g

Ingredients
- 500 g mussels, cleaned and debearded
- 300 g large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 250 g squid, cleaned and cut into rings
- 300 g arborio rice
- 1 medium onion, peeled
- 2 stalks celery stalks
- 1 medium carrot, peeled
- 400 g tomatoes, canned crushed
- 1 liter fish or seafood stock, warmed
- 200 ml dry white wine
- 15 g fresh parsley, roughly chopped
- 3 cloves garlic cloves, peeled
Instructions
- 1
Peel the onion and cut it in half lengthwise from root to tip, then place the flat side down and slice crosswise into half-moons about 1/4-inch thick.
- 2
Place the celery stalks on the cutting board and slice them crosswise into pieces about 1/4-inch thick, discarding any tough white core from the center.
- 3
Place the carrot on the cutting board and slice it lengthwise into four long strips, then rotate each strip flat and slice crosswise into 1/4-inch thick half-moons.
- 4
Mince the garlic cloves until the pieces are smaller than a grain of rice — each piece should be about the size of a pencil-tip dot.
- 5
Pour 3 tablespoons of olive oil into a 6-quart pot and place it over medium-high heat until the oil shimmers and slides quickly when you tilt the pan, about 90 seconds.
- 6
Add the sliced onion, carrot, and celery to the hot oil and stir with a wooden spoon once every 30 seconds until the vegetables soften and turn light golden at the edges, about 5 minutes.
- 7
Add the minced garlic and stir constantly for 30 seconds until the air smells strongly fragrant and you see the garlic pieces turn pale gold.
- 8
Pour in 200 ml of white wine and use a wooden spoon to scrape up the brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pot; stir for 2 minutes until the wine reduces by about half.
- 9
Add the 400 g of crushed canned tomatoes to the pot and stir well, then lower the heat to medium and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly.
- 10
Pour in 1 liter of warm fish stock and stir to combine, then return the heat to medium-high and bring the liquid to a gentle boil where you see steady small bubbles breaking the surface.
- 11
Spread the 300 g of arborio rice evenly across the surface of the simmering liquid using a wooden spoon, then stir once or twice to distribute it evenly, and lower the heat to medium.
- 12
Arrange the cleaned mussels on top of the rice in a single layer, then scatter the shrimp pieces and squid rings over and around them.
- 13
Bring the pot back to a steady simmer (you should see small bubbles breaking the surface once every 2–3 seconds) and cover with a lid, leaving it cracked open slightly.
- 14
Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes and gently checking that the rice is absorbing the liquid and the shrimp are turning pink and opaque throughout.
- 15
Check if the rice grains are soft and creamy when you bite one, and the mussels are open (discard any that remain closed); if the liquid is not fully absorbed, simmer for 2 more minutes.
- 16
Remove the pot from the heat and sprinkle the fresh chopped parsley over the top in a scattered layer, then let the tiella rest uncovered for 2 minutes before serving directly from the pot.
Tools you’ll need
- 6-quart heavy-bottomed pot with lid
- wooden spoon
- cutting board
- chef's knife
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
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