If the Poles have one staple food, it has to be the potato. Seriously, Polish cookbooks have chapters dedicated to the humble spud. This is a simple, hearty and really yummy soup which my mum used to make when I was growing up. It's packed with the nutritious goodness of potato and plenty of cream, so it's got to be good for you!

Ingredients

Preparation

Take as many potatoes as you want, and about one quarter as many carrots. Peel them. Chop the potatoes into slices about 2mm thick and 3cm on a side, and the carrots into disks. Pop them in a saucepan and cover them in chicken stock (make your own if you're game, if not buy a carton of the ready-made stuff). Boil the veggies in the stock until they are soft. In a separate bowl put your sour cream (approximately one heaped tablespoon per bowl of soup). Add a ladle of liquid from the soup and use a hand-held mixer or whisk to blend it together until there are no lumps of sour cream. Add some more liquid until the mixture is runny and then pour this back into the pot along with some finely chopped dill. Season to taste with salt and pepper and it's done.

Best served with a side of icy Polish Wodka. Both great winter warmers.