Seafood is delicious in all forms, but we have a special place in our hearts for shellfish-laden soups and stews. Chief among them? A classic, hearty bowl of cioppino.

For the uninitiated, culinary creator Diane Morrisey wrote the perfect introduction to the dish in her book You Got This!: Recipes Anyone Can Make and Everyone Will Love. “Cioppino,” she explains, “is a fisherman’s stew popularized in San Francisco, with a robust red broth and chock-full of seafood.” The sea creatures in question can include fish, shrimp, mussels, scallops, and clams — and the result is a show-stopping dish.

“I make a pot of this every Christmas Eve,” Morrisey continues, “because the broth can be made the day before and refrigerated.” Yes, you read that right — you can cut down on stress by breaking the process into two, even-more manageable chunks of time. “When you are ready to serve it, bring it to a simmer and add the seafood, then serve it up with plenty of crusty bread to soak up all that flavorful broth.”

But you don’t need a serious holiday to bust out this recipe — if you’ve got a little extra time on a Saturday, head to the nearest market to get the ingredients for this incredibly tasty (and impressive) labor of love.

Cioppino

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

¼ cup olive oil
3 oil-packed anchovy fillets, chopped
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 celery ribs, chopped
¼ cup tomato paste
1 cup dry white wine
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
2 cups bottled clam juice
4 fresh thyme sprigs
2 pounds cod, scrod, or haddock fillets
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 dozen fresh mussels, cleaned (see Note)
2 dozen fresh littleneck clams, cleaned (see Note)
1 pound large (21/25 count) shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 pound sea scallops
⅓ cup finely chopped fresh parsley

Note: To clean the clams and mussels, scrub them well under cold running water. If the mussels have their beards, pull them off with your hands or a pair of pliers. (Prince Edward Island mussels, a common variety, are beardless.) Transfer the clams and mussels to a large bowl of well-salted cold water and let stand for 30 minutes. Drain well before adding to the broth.

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the anchovies, pepper flakes, garlic, and bay leaf and cook, stirring often, until the anchovies begin to break down, about 1 minute. Add the onion and celery and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir the tomato paste into the vegetables and continue to cook until the tomato paste begins to brown and to stick to the bottom of the pot, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the wine and scrape up the tomato paste with a wooden spoon.
Add the crushed tomatoes, clam juice, and thyme. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer to blend the flavors, about 10 minutes. Remove and discard the thyme stems and the bay leaf. (The broth can be cooled, covered, and refrigerated for up to 1 day. Bring to a simmer over high heat before proceeding.)
Season the cod with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add to the broth and cook, without stirring, for 5 minutes. Add the mussels, clams, shrimp, and scallops and cover tightly. Simmer until the mussels and clams open, about 10 minutes. Discard any unopened clams or mussels.
Season the broth with salt and pepper. Sprinkle in the parsley. Ladle into bowls, breaking up the cod as needed to fit the bowls, and serve hot.

Excerpted from YOU GOT THIS!: Recipes Anyone Can Make and Everyone Will Love. Copyright @ 2025 by Diane Morrisey. Photography Copyright © 2025 by Dane Tashima. Reproduced by permission of Simon Element, and imprint of Simon & Schuster. All rights reserved.