Isobael's Cioppino

Cioppino is an Italian Seafood Stew, or soup. (I prefer to call it soup as it's brothy, whereas a stew is thick. Why yes, IMHO Manhattan clam chowder is a soup and New England clam chowder is a stew!)

This is MY version of Cioppino as I didn't have all the ingredients listed on the original recipe and used what I had on hand.

1 TB butter and 2 TB olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced (or 2 TB minced garlic, or 2 TB garlic paste - I buy the huge tub of minced garlic from Costco.)
2 (14.5 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes (I used diced - no salt added.)
1 small can of tomato paste
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
6 cups of clam broth (we had cooked clams over the summer. The water used to boil/steam them was filtered, cooled, then frozen to use for soup. If you don't have this, use chicken broth and a bottle of clam juice.)
1 1/2 cups white wine
1 bag of frozen seafood mix, thawed
1 pound cod fillets, cut into cubes
4 tilapia fillets, cut into cubes
(Cod and tilapia fillets can be bought frozen at Walmart, in 1 pound bags. I just use a bag of each.)
Frozen mussels (Again, Walmart has a bag of frozen, cleaned and cooked mussels. Has two sections in a bag. I used 1 section.)
1 1/2 pounds large shrimp - peeled and deveined
Salt and pepper to taste

Over medium-low heat melt butter in a large stockpot, add garlic. Cook slowly, stirring occasionally until soft and fragrant.

Add tomatoes to the pot (break them into chunks as you add them). Add broth, bay leaves, basil, thyme, oregano, water and wine. Mix well. Cover and simmer 30 minutes.

Stir in the shrimp, seafood mix, mussels. Stir in fish. Bring to boil. Lower heat, cover and simmer 5 to 7 minutes (if using fresh clams, cook until clams open, discarding any that do not open after this time.)

Ladle into bowls and serve with warm garlic bread, or better yet, serve in bread bowls!