Shchi

Put the beef in a large pan and pour over the 2.5 litres of cold water.

Bring it up slowly over about 20 minutes, until the first bubbles break the surface.

Skim the grey foam off as it gathers, and keep skimming until the surface stays clear.

Add the bay leaves and the whole peppercorns.

Simmer with the lid ajar for 2 hours, until the meat gives under a fork and pulls away in strands.

Taste a shred of the sauerkraut while the broth cooks.

Rinse it once under cold water and squeeze it dry if it is aggressively sour, and use it as it comes if it is mild. Jars and barrels differ enormously, and this is the only chance to correct for that.

Warm the oil in a wide pan over medium-low heat.

Cook the onion and carrot for 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft with no colour on them.

Stir in the tomato puree and cook for 1 minute, until it darkens to brick red and stops smelling raw.

Add the drained sauerkraut with a ladleful of the beef broth.

Cover and stew gently for 40-45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the shreds are tender and no longer squeak against the teeth.

Give it the full stewing time in its own pan. Sauerkraut barely softens in a soup pot, and shchi made by tipping raw kraut into broth twenty minutes before serving is hot cabbage sitting in liquid.

Lift the beef out and strain the broth into a clean pan.

Shred the meat off the bone with two forks and discard the fat and gristle.

Bring the strained broth to a simmer and add the potatoes.

Cook for 12-15 minutes, until a knife tip slides into a cube with no resistance.

Get the potatoes soft before the sauerkraut goes in and never after. Acid firms starch and holds it there, and a potato dropped into a sour pot stays chalky for as long as you are willing to boil it.

Stir the stewed sauerkraut and the shredded meat into the pan.

Simmer for 10 minutes, until the broth tastes of cabbage rather than of beef with cabbage in it.

Stir in the garlic off the heat.

Taste, and sharpen it with the reserved sauerkraut brine a spoonful at a time if it reads flat.

Season with the ground peppercorns, then with fine salt. Leave the salt until now, because the kraut and its brine carry a great deal of it already.

Cover and stand the pan off the heat for 20 minutes before serving.

Ladle into warm bowls and scatter the dill and parsley over.

Put the smetana on the table and let people stir it in themselves. Boiled into a sour pot, soured cream splits into grains sitting in thin liquid.

Cool any left over in a shallow container, refrigerate within two hours and eat it within three days.

Reheat it to a simmer the next day, which is when Russian cooks reckon it is at its best.