Potato pierogis and hot borsch soup

Cook the potatoes in a pan of boiling salted water for about 15 minutes, until tender. Drain and cool.

For the dough ; combine 1 of the eggs with 1 tablespoon cream cheese, 1 teaspoon milk and 75g of the flour.

Once the flour has been worked in, add another 75g flour, 1 tablespoon cream cheese and 1 teaspoon milk. Continue this way until the eggs, cream cheese, milk and flour have been used up. Knead until smooth.

Roll out a quarter of the dough to a 0.25cm thickness and stamp out 3cm circles using a pastry cutter. Flour both sides of the circle and set aside in a single layer on waxed paper. Repeat the process with the remaining dough.

Mash the potatoes with the cottage cheese, fried bacon, salt and butter. Place a spoonful of the filling on one half of the circle. Fold the dough over and seal the edges.

Bring a large pan of water to the boil and drop in the pierogis, a few at a time, and cook for 1-2 minutes. Drain in a colander and set aside until needed.

Just before serving, fry the dumplings until crisp and serve with the borsch soup.

Preheat the oven to 200C, and roast the beetroot in foil for 40 minutes, or until soft. Remove the skin and cut into cubes.

Heat the butter in a saucepan and fry the carrots, shallots and celery until soft, then put in a large saucepan with the bay leaf and caraway seeds. Pour in the stock and bring to a rapid boil.

. Reduce the heat to a simmer, season well and cook for about 40 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Cool slightly.

. Remove the bay leaf, pour the soup into a food processor or blender and liquidise until smooth.

. Push the soup through a sieve set over the rinsed-out saucepan. And check the seasoning.

. Fold in the reserved beetroot cubes and sharpen with lime juice just before serving. Add a dollop of crème fraiche and serve.