Ingredients

Serves 8

2 (28-oz.) cans whole San Marzano tomatoes

¼ cup olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 large fennel bulb, chopped

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

Kosher salt and pepper

2 tsp. fennel seeds

2 fresh or dried bay leaves

1 cup dry white wine

4 cups vegetable or fish stock or water

1 ½ lbs. mussels, scrubbed

1 lb. shrimp, shelled and deveined

1 lb. cod or halibut fillet, cut into 2 inch pieces

½ cup tarragon or parsley leaves, and/or the fronds of the fennel bulb

Crusty bread, for serving

Instructions

Put the tomatoes into a deep, large bowl (or a pot, that works too). Using your hands, crush the tomatoes until no obvious large pieces remain. You're not going for a puree or anything, just crushed tomatoes.

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, fennel, and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the vegetables are softened and starting to brown, 8-10 minutes. Add the fennel seeds and bay leaves, and stir to combine. Cook this another minute or so, to just toast the fennel seeds.

Add the white wine, the crushed tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Cook this 10-15 minutes to concentrate the tomato juices, stirring occasionally.

Add 4 cups of vegetable or fish stock (you could even use water, if you wanted) and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer away until this soup tastes so good you can't stand it anymore, 45-60 minutes, seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.

Once this is all good, increase the heat to medium and add the mussels. Cook them until they just start to open, about 5 minutes. Add the shrimp and the cod and cook another 4 minutes or so, until the mussels are completely opened and the shrimp and cod are cooked through.

Remove from heat and serve right from the pot with crusty bread for dipping. Tarragon, parsley leaves, or fennel fronds on the side are nice to sprinkle over, too.

Stews