Paila marina — Chilean soup of mussels, clams and congrio

1 ✓

Check and clean the shellfish

Buy the shellfish alive from an authorised seller and keep them in the fridge, below 5 °C and away from other foods, until you cook them. Check them one by one: throw out any with cracked shells and any that are open and do not close when tapped, because a live shellfish reacts by shutting its shell. Soak the clams for 30 minutes in cold salted water (2 tablespoons of salt per litre) so they release their sand, then rinse them. Scrub the mussels and cholgas with a brush under cold running water and, just before cooking, pull off the beard, the tuft of fibres poking out between the shells, until it comes away.

2 ✓

Steam the shellfish open in white wine

Pour the wine into a large lidded pot and bring it to the boil over high heat. Add the mussels, the clams and the cholgas, if using, cover and, once it boils again, cook for 5 minutes, shaking the pot a couple of times, until the shells open: Chile's health authority advises boiling shellfish for at least that long. Discard any that stay closed. Lift the shellfish into a bowl with a slotted spoon and strain the liquid in the pot through a sieve lined with a clean cloth or paper towel, which catches the sand; that liquor is the flavour of the broth. Once cool enough to handle, remove the empty half shell from the mussels and cholgas, and cut the cholga meat in two if it is large.

3 ✓

Sauté the onion, garlic and ají de color

In another large pot, heat the oil over medium heat and cook the onion with a pinch of salt for 6-7 minutes, stirring, until soft and translucent but not browned. Add the garlic and oregano and cook for 1 minute, until the garlic smells fragrant. Turn the heat to the lowest setting, add the ají de color and stir for 20-30 seconds: it dissolves into the oil and turns it red, but over high heat it burns in seconds and makes the broth bitter.

4 ✓

Build the broth and simmer it

Pour the strained shellfish liquor and the fish stock over the sofrito and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, so the onion and ají de color give the liquid their flavour and colour. Taste before adding salt: the shellfish liquor is already salty, and often a little pepper is all it needs. If the broth has reduced too much, add a splash of hot water.

5 ✓

Simmer the fish and shrimp gently

Lightly salt the congrio pieces and slide them into the broth, which should be at a gentle simmer with small bubbles: a hard boil breaks them apart. Cook for 5 minutes, then add the shrimp, if using, for 2 minutes more, until pink, opaque and firm. The fish is done when the flesh is opaque right to the centre and separates into flakes when pressed with a fork (63 °C if you use a thermometer).

6 ✓

Return the shellfish and add the cilantro

Put the shellfish back in the pot and warm them in the broth for 2 minutes without letting it boil hard: they are already cooked, and further cooking shrinks them and makes them rubbery. Turn off the heat, stir in half the cilantro and adjust the salt and pepper.

7 ✓

Serve in clay pailas with lemon

Warm the clay pailas or deep bowls by filling them with hot water for a few minutes (you can do this while the fish cooks) and empty them just before serving: a warm vessel keeps the broth steaming to the last spoonful. Put a piece of congrio, some shrimp and shellfish of each kind in each one, ladle the broth over and finish with the rest of the cilantro and a pinch of merkén, if using. Serve at once, with lemon wedges to squeeze at the table and bread for the broth.