Cheap Cioppino

Ingredients:

coriander seeds, fennel seeds and black pepper toasted and ground
1 medium onion, quartered
3 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 Turkish bay leaves or 1 California
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon dried hot red-pepper flakes
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes in juice
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup full-bodied red wine
1 pound skinless fillets of thick white-fleshed fish such as halibut, hake, or pollack, cut into 2-inch chunks ( I thawed a frozen seafood medley from Trader Joe's, with shrimp, scallops and squid rings and some cubed rock fish, $10)
1 pound cultivated mussels

Preparation:

Toast and grind the seeds and black pepper while you sweat the onions and garlic in a pot with your oil. Add salt, ground seeds, red pepper flakes, and thyme and sautee until onions are soft.

Deglaze with wine and boil for a bit. Add tomatoes in their juice.

Boil on high for 20 minutes (the broth will thicken the more you boil it.

Add fish and seafood and boil until cooked through.