Ciorbă de cartofi cu smântână, Romanian potato soup with sour cream

Ingredients

• 4-5 medium potatoes (800 g)
• 2 medium carrots (160 g)
• 2 medium parsley roots (150 g)
• 1 small celeriac (250 g)
• 2300 ml water
• 2 medium onions (300 g)
• 30 ml oil
• 3 medium tomatoes (450 g)
• 3-4 garlic cloves
• 500 ml thick market-bought sour cream with at least 20% fat
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon Vegeta
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
• 15 g dill
• 15 g parsley
• 15 g lovage

Preparation

1. Peel and wash the carrots, parsley roots and celeriac. Cut the carrots and parsley roots into rounds or half-moons, put them in a 4-liter pot with 2000 ml water and boil for 15 minutes, until almost completely tender. 2. Chop the onion. Heat 30 ml oil in a frying pan and cook the onion for 8 minutes, until softened. Remove the seeds from the tomatoes, chop them, add them to the pan and cook for another 4 minutes over low heat. 3. Peel the potatoes, cut them into cubes and add them to the pot, along with the onion and tomatoes from the pan, including the oil, and the garlic cut into thin slices. Boil for 10 minutes, until the potatoes are almost tender and the soup has come to a boil 2-3 times. Take the sour cream out of the fridge 15 minutes beforehand, then mix it with 300 ml water and a few spoonfuls of hot broth. 4. Pour the thinned sour cream into the pot and simmer for 5 minutes, without letting it boil vigorously. Add the salt, Vegeta, pepper, and chopped dill, parsley and lovage; the potatoes should be tender.