Tiella Pugliese

September 2018

Main course, serves 4. Preparation time approximately 25 minutes
(plus 60 minutes in the oven).

• 500 grams of fairly-firm potatoes
• 450 grams of nice, large clams (or mussels)
• 1 small onion
• 4 plum tomatoes
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 5 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 tablespoons of chopped curly-leaf parsley
• 250 grams of risotto
• 50 grams of grated Parmesan cheese
• 30 grams of breadcrumbs
• Extra: an oven dish with a raised edge of at least 5 cm, aluminium foil

Preheat oven to 200°C.
Scrub the skin of the potatoes till clean. Wash the outside of the clams. Using a small knife, open the clams. Place the blade on the round side between the shells and cut it open all the way to the point. Scrape the clam meat onto one shell half and discard the empty half. Save the water and strain it. Cut the potato into very thin slices, preferably with a mandolin, but by hand is also possible. Do the same with the onion. Thinly slice the tomatoes. Press the garlic. Pour half of the olive oil in the oven dish. Distribute the onion and the garlic over the olive oil. Place half the potatoes on top, arranged like roof-tiles. Distribute half the tomatoes and half the parsley over the potatoes. Place the halved clams on top with the open side facing up. Sprinkle generously with coarsely ground black pepper and plenty of sea salt. Pour the clam liquid over it and spoon the risotto on top. Cover everything with the rest of the potatoes, tomatoes and parsley. Drizzle the rest of the oil over it and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and the breadcrumbs. Carefully add about 4 dl of water from one side up to the gratin layer. The gratin layer should remain dry. Bake the dish at 200°C for 60 minutes, covering the dish with aluminium foil for the first half hour.

Ingrid van den Arend, Cook it!

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