Cioppino

Give half a medium white onion, about 125 g, a very small dice. Smaller vegetables melt into the tomatoey broth instead of clinging to the fish.

Cut the core out of the fennel and dice it the same size, 75 g in total.

Push four to five garlic cloves through a garlic press.

Set a heavy bottom pot, here a six and a half quart Dutch oven, on the stove over medium heat.

Add about three tablespoons of olive oil, then the onion, the fennel, the minced garlic and about a teaspoon of salt, and stir to combine.

Sweat the vegetables over gentle medium heat about four to five minutes, until they have lost a good bit of their moisture.

Put the shells from about a pound of shrimp into a medium saucepan.

Top the shells with one box, about 900 to 1,000 g, of chicken stock and one bottle, about 240 ml, of clam juice.

Cook the shell stock at a low simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes.

Add a nice pinch of chili flake to the softened vegetables, stir it in and cook three to four minutes more, until they are soft and translucent and the chili has perfumed the oil.

Add 200 g of cheap white wine and bring it up to a simmer.

Cook two to three minutes until the wine is mostly evaporated, the bubbles are big and it leaves a trail behind.

Pour the shrimp and clam stock in through a strainer, pressing hard on the shells. About 1,200 g of liquid in total; top up with a few splashes of water if short.

Stir in one 20 ounce can, about 800 g, of pureed tomatoes.

Bring the pot to a rolling boil and reduce for about 12 to 15 minutes, to soften the vegetables completely and concentrate the broth.

Cut the cod into three strips lengthwise, then into large chunks about one inch on each side.

Salt the cod ahead of time, a heaping tablespoon for the pound, so it firms up and is less prone to flake in the pot.

Cut the shrimp down the back with kitchen scissors, peel open the backside, remove the vein and peel the shell off, squeezing the tail so it comes away in one piece.

Cut the squid tubes into rings and halve any very large tentacle sections.

Rinse the mussels under cold water and tear off the gritty beards. Discard any that are cracked or broken.

After about 15 minutes the tomato broth has reduced by 15 to 20 percent. Taste it for seasoning.

Add a healthy dose of salt and a quarter teaspoon of sugar, then taste again.

Turn the heat down to low to cook the fragile fish gently.

Add the cod, then all the shrimp, then the squid, and spread everything out evenly and fully submerged so there are no raw spots.

Add the cleaned mussels and submerge them too.

Bring to a very gentle simmer, drop the lid on and poach three to four minutes.

Lid off and stir very gently to bring any remaining raw fish into contact with the hot broth. Do not stir much or the cod flakes apart.

Use the mussels as the barometer of doneness. Lid back on and poach two more minutes if they are not fully open.

After six to eight minutes of gentle poaching in total the mussels are fully open and the shrimp, cod and squid are nicely opaque.

Ladle four to five ladlefuls into a warmed deep bowl, cod, squid and shrimp in first.

Garnish with black pepper, minced parsley and fresh green-tasting olive oil, then snug four to five mussels into the broth.

Serve with crusty sourdough bread for dipping.