Easy Cioppino (Seafood Stew)

Heat a large Dutch oven to medium high. When hot, add olive oil, onion and dry seasonings. Cook just until onion is tender and you can smell the aroma of the combined ingredients.

Add garlic, fresh thyme, tomato paste, broth, pureed whole tomatoes, clam juice, and white wine. Stir well, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 30 minutes.

Taste the broth and add salt, if needed, and some fresh cracked black pepper to taste.

Take the bag of seafood medley (defrosted) and separate cooked mussels from the other raw seafood. (Discard any unopened mussels.) Gently drop in the raw seafood, making sure to cover everything in the broth. Bring back to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes or until raw seafood is cooked through.

Gently stir in the mussels so as not to break up the chunks of cooked fish throughout the stew. Cook just until mussels are heated through, about 5 minutes.

Pour into soup plates and serve, garnished with plenty of chopped Italian parsley and a drizzle of high-quality olive oil.