Aveiro Mussels(Mexilhoes De Aveiro) - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 lb. small mussels or clams
1 onion
1/4 c. olive oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1/4 c. white table wine
pepper to taste
1/8 tsp. ground saffron
1 c. uncooked rice
2 c. hot fish broth or boiling water

Preparation

Wash and scrub mussels thoroughly, rinsing several times to make sure they are free of all sand and particles.
Chop onion; brown lightly in hot olive oil in a heavy skillet.
Add mussels; cover tightly to steam, shaking pan from time to time.
When shells open, take mussels out of pan and remove empty shells, being careful to retain all the juice, which is returned to pan with the shelled mussels.
Add crushed garlic cloves, wine, pepper and saffron, then rice, letting it brown slightly before gradually adding fish broth.
Cook over low heat until rice is thoroughly cooked.
Stir occasionally so that rice does not stick to the pan.
Serve on rye or wheat Melba toast.