A La Gallega Recipe

Cook the potatoes

Place the peeled, sliced potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with cold salted water. Bring to a gentle boil, then simmer until the potatoes are just tender when pierced with a fork, about 8–10 minutes. Drain well and let steam-dry in the colander for 2 minutes.

Arrange the drained potatoes in a single layer on the bottom of a large shallow ovenproof skillet or baking dish (an 11–12 inch pan). Drizzle 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over the potatoes, sprinkle 1 tsp coarse sea salt and 1 tsp smoked paprika evenly across the potatoes. Toss gently in the pan with a spoon to coat. Keep warm while you prepare the seafood.

Build the aromatic base

Heat remaining 4 tablespoons olive oil in a large wide sauté pan over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, about 5–6 minutes. Add the sliced garlic and cook for 1–2 minutes more until fragrant but not brown.

Deglaze and make the broth

Pour in the white wine and increase heat to medium-high to bring to a simmer; let it reduce by about half, 2–3 minutes. Add the cold water or fish stock, bay leaf and black pepper and bring to a gentle simmer, then reduce heat to low and cook 2 minutes to combine flavors. Taste and adjust seasoning with remaining coarse sea salt (up to 1 tsp more, if desired).

Steam the shellfish

Increase heat under the sauté pan to medium-high. Add the cleaned mussels and clams to the pan, cover, and steam until they begin to open, about 4–5 minutes. Shake the pan occasionally. When most shells have opened, remove any shells that remain tightly closed and discard. Using a slotted spoon transfer opened shellfish to the pan with the potatoes, nestling them in the spaces between slices.

Cook the shrimp

Add the shrimp to the simmering broth in the sauté pan and cook until they turn pink and are just cooked through, about 2–3 minutes. Spoon several large ladlefuls of the flavorful broth over the potatoes and shellfish in the baking dish so they sit partially submerged but not swimming. Reserve the remaining broth in the pan.

Finish & roast (optional) — 'A la Gallega' style

Preheat the broiler (grill) or oven to 200°C (390°F) if you want a lightly roasted finish. Place the baking dish with potatoes and seafood on a sheet tray and put under the broiler for 3–5 minutes until the top is lightly browned and the paprika scent is aromatic. Watch carefully to prevent burning. Alternatively, simply cover and let sit for a minute to meld flavors.

Remove from oven, discard bay leaf. Sprinkle the chopped parsley over the entire dish, drizzle the remaining cooking broth around the dish and a final small drizzle (about 1 tsp) of olive oil over the seafood. Serve immediately with lemon wedges on the side to squeeze over.