•    Smell
•    Appearance
•    Taste & flavour
•    Ingredients [particularly fish content]
•    General satisfaction

FIRST PRIZE –  Richard Batten

Hungarian Style Fish Soup [Serves 6]

Ingredients
1 medium sized onion
1 celery head [100 gms]
1 globe of garlic [50 gms]
1 sweet red pepper
4 large ripe tomatoes
2 red chillis
1 litre fish/seafood stock
400 gms cod loin
300 gms small squid sliced
250 gms raw prawns
300 gms crab meat
Cayenne Pepper
Fresh Ground Hungarian Paprika
Black Pepper
Ground White Pepper
Worcester Sauce
Large glass white wine
Olive oil
Unsalted butter
Soured cream & parsley to serve

Method:

Finely chop the onion, pepper and celery. Crush the garlic.  Sweat in the olive oil and butter until soft. Add the chopped skinned tomatoes, white wine and simmer.
Add the stock and the fish, bring to the boil and simmer until cooked through
Gently add peppers, paprika etc with a small splash of Worcester sauce until desired taste is achieved.
Before serving, stir in 2 tablespoons of soured cream and garnish with parsley.   

This soup is inspired by the flavours of Hungary, where river fish soup spiced with fresh paprika is a popular and tasty dish.. Enjoy!  [JÒ ÈTVÀGYAT!]

SECOND PLACE - Marianne Laidlaw

Indian Spicy Fish Soup with local mackerel and haddock

Ingredients
About 800 g fish [half mackerel and half haddock]
500 ml fish stock
1 red pepper finely diced
1 large onion very finely chopped
3 Garlic cloves – crushed
500 g passata
1 tin coconut milk
2 tbsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp chilli powder
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
2 red chillies deseeded & chopped
2 inches fresh giner grated
1 lime

Method
Heat a couple of tablespoons of veg oil in a large pan.  Add all dried spices and let sizzle for a few minutes to let them infuse.
Add the onions, garlic chillies and red pepper and cook until the onion is softened
Stir in the passata and after heating through for 5 mins or so add the fish stock.  Stir well and bring up to a simmer.

Add the mackerel fillets [whole] so they poach in the liquid.  Once done [5-10 mins] removed with a slotted spoon and set aside.  Add the haddock to the pan [chopped into bite size pieces]  

Meanwhile chop the mackerel [removing any skin and bones]. Add the mackerel back to the pan.  Stir in the coconut milk, squeeze in lime juice. Heat through for a few minutes.  Season with salt and pepper and then serve.

THIRD PLACE – Nicola Moeran

Crab & Spinach Soup

Ingredients
250 g crab meat [mixed brown and white]
250 g leaf spinach
500 ml fish stock [prepared from heads, bones etc of any white fish and boiled with a sprig of fennel]
1 glass dry white wine
1 medium onion
Sprig of fennel
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons double cream
Salt & pepper to taste

Method
Sweat the onion in the olive oil until the onion is transparent
Boil the spinach for 3 minutes, drain and press out as much water as possible
Put all the ingredients apart from the cream in to a food processor and liquidise for 6-7 minutes
Return to the saucepan, heat and just before serving add the cream and seasoning.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED -  C J Tattershall

Smoked Haddock & Broccoli Soup

Ingredients
400 g smoked haddock fillets chopped into 1” pieces
200g new potatoes par boiled and roughly chopped
Broccoli chopped into small florets
1 white onion
1 leek
25 g butter
150 ml double cream
1 bay leaf
400 mls milk

Method
Par boil potatoes for 10 minutes
Steam the broccoli for approx 5 minustes
Melt the butter in a pan and add the onion and leek.  Sweat them until soft
To the onion and leek add milk, cream and the bay leaf and heat through
Add the haddock and simmer for 4 minutes
Add the chopped potatoes and simmer for 6 minutes
To finish add the broccoli florets, remove bay leaf and season soup with black pepper

Serve with triangles of toast