Green sorrel borscht with egg (Zelenyi borshch)

1. Bring the chicken legs to the boil with the water and bay leaves, skim off the foam and simmer over low heat for 40 minutes; lift out the meat, pull it off the bone, tear it into bite-sized pieces and return it to the broth.

2. Add the diced potatoes, season with salt and cook for 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile fry the finely chopped onion and grated carrot in the oil in a frying pan for 5 minutes, then add to the soup and cook for another 5 minutes.

4. Wash the sorrel, remove the tough stalks, cut the leaves into strips and stir them into the soup; cook for only 2-3 minutes until olive green – no longer, or it loses its fresh sourness. Season with pepper.

5. Meanwhile hard-boil the eggs for 10 minutes, peel and halve them.

6. Serve each bowl with half an egg, a spoonful of sour cream and fresh dill; it's good hot or cold.

Tip: The first soup of the Ukrainian spring: fresh sorrel gives it a pleasantly lemony sourness, which is why it's called borscht even without beetroot or vinegar – you can replace some of the sorrel with spinach.