Eastern European

Bigos

Name: Bigos
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h 35 min
Total time: 1 h 55 min
Yield: 1 serving
Cuisine: Eastern European
Ingredients: 5 g dried wild mushrooms; 100 ml boiling water; 150 g sauerkraut; 100 g white cabbage; 100 g pork shoulder; 60 g kielbasa; 20 g smoked streaky bacon; 1 tbsp lard; 1 onion; 1 tsp tomato purée; 50 ml dry red wine; 100 ml water; 2 prunes; 1 bay leaf; 3 allspice berries; 3 juniper berries; 0.5 tsp dried marjoram; salt; black pepper

Poland's hunter's stew: sauerkraut and fresh cabbage slowly braised with pork, smoked sausage and bacon, scented with dried mushrooms, juniper and prunes. It only gets better the next day.

Lunch & dinner 25g+ protein 8g+ fibre

115 min20 prep · 95 cookMedium691 kcalper serving

Method

Put 5 g of dried wild mushrooms in a small bowl, pour over 100 ml of boiling water and leave to soak for 20 minutes. Lift the mushrooms out, chop them finely and reserve the soaking liquid, leaving any grit behind in the bowl.
Taste the 150 g of drained sauerkraut; if it is fiercely sour, rinse it briefly under cold water and squeeze dry. Chop it roughly so no strand is longer than a fork can manage, and shred the 100 g of white cabbage finely.
Melt 1 tbsp of lard in a heavy casserole over medium heat and render 20 g of diced smoked bacon for 3 minutes until the fat runs. Raise the heat, add 100 g of cubed pork shoulder and brown it well on all sides for about 5 minutes, then add 60 g of sliced kielbasa and fry 2 minutes until its edges colour. Lift all the meat out onto a plate.
Lower the heat to medium-low and soften 1 finely chopped small onion in the remaining fat for 5 minutes until golden. Stir in 1 tsp of tomato purée and fry 1 minute, then pour in 50 ml of dry red wine and scrape the base of the pot clean as it bubbles.