AEGEAN APPETITES

Travel across the globe with these mouth-watering Mediterranean recipes

- COMPILED BY: ELAINE OBRAN

Midopilafo

Mussel Pilaf with Saffron

SERVES 4

INGREDIENTS

1kg fresh mussels

80ml (1/3 cup) olive oil

1 small red onion, finely diced

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

200g short-grain rice

1 tomato, diced

1/2 tsp saffron

100ml white wine

35g (1/4 cup) currants

40g (1/2 cup) pine nuts, toasted

1 tblsp chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley

1 tblsp chopped dill

Lemon wedges, to serve

METHOD

1 Clean the mussels well, scrubbing the shells and removing the beards. Put the mussels in a large saucepan with 1 cup of cold water and steam over a high heat for 4-5 minutes until they have opened. Discard any that have not. Remove from the saucepan and set aside to cool. Strain the cooking liquid and set aside. Once cooled enough to handle, remove the mussels from their shells, leaving six to eight in their shells for serving. Discard any that have not opened.

2 Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over a medium heat and saute the onion until softened. Add the garlic and rice, and mix well to combine all the flavours. Pour in the reserved cooking liquid and 250ml (1 cup) of hot water. Stir well, add the tomato, saffron and white wine, and season well with salt and pepper.

3 Lower the heat to low and cover the pot, cooking for about 12 minutes or until the rice is tender. You may need to check during the cooking time to make sure it does not get too dry; add a little more water if it does.

4 Stir through the currants, pine nuts and herbs, then add all the unshelled mussels, and give the pilaf another stir and continue cooking uncovered for a further 3-4 minutes.

5 Garnish with the reserved mussels and serve with a squeeze of lemon.