ARROZ A LA TUMBADA (VERACRUZ-STYLE SEAFOOD AND RICE)
Source: Zarela's Veracruz by Zarela Martinez;Houghton Mifflin Co., New York
0618444106
Servings: 4

2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. corn oil
1 cup medium grain rice, washed and dried
1/2 medium white onion, peeled and chopped
2 large garlic cloves, peeled and minced
2 Roma tomatoes, roasted, seeded, peeled and liquefied
2 1/2 cups fish stock
1/2 lb. raw fish fillets, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 lb. raw shrimp, shelled and deveined
1/4 lb. chopped, cooked octopus
4 soft-shell crabs
8 scrubbed clams
1 Tbsp. chopped parsley

In a clay cazuela or heavy-bottomed pot, heat the butter and oil. Add the rice, onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until the rice is just turning golden.

Add the liquefied tomatoes and cook until they are nearly absorbed by the rice.

Add the fish stock, fish fillets, shrimp, octopus, crabs and clams. Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover tightly and simmer until the liquid is absorbed.

Remove lid, sprinkle with chopped parsley, bring the cazuela to the table and serve from it.