Solyanka

Chop all the vegetables finely. Heat the water and add the cucumber, tomato and bay leaf when it starts to boil.

Fry the onion, carrot and pepper together until the onion becomes transparent. Add the garlic and flour and fry everything for a further few minutes.

Add the contents of the frying pan to the soup pot along with the olives, paprika, black pepper and stock. Simmer for about half an hour.

Wait until the end of cooking time before deciding whether to add salt as a lot will come out of the olives, cucumbers and stock cubes.

Add some chopped herbs at the last minute and serve the soup garnished with blobs of sour cream.