Bigos

Bigos

Ingredients for 6 servings:

7 oz bacon, 7 oz beef, 10 oz boneless pork shoulder, 7 oz any pork sausage, 1.5 oz any cold meat, 1 lb fresh white cabbage, 1 lb sauerkraut, 2 onions, 1 oz favorite dried mushrooms 3.5 oz dried or smoked plums, 1 glass of dry red wine, 3 tomatoes or 2 tbsp. of tomato paste, 4 bay leaves, 5 grains of allspice, 2 juniper seeds, 1 tbsp. of dried marjoram, 1 tbsp. of dried lovage, 1 tbsp. of sweet paprika, salt, and pepper to taste.

Preparation:

  1. Put the mushrooms in a bowl or pot and pour cold water over them until completely covered. Leave them to soak for a few hours.
  2. Drain the sauerkraut, chop finely, and put it into a large pot. Remove top leaves from white cabbage, wash and shred finely as well. Add it to the sauerkraut.
  3. Slice onion and sausage, fry until browned in a pan, and then add it to the pot with cabbage and sauerkraut.
  4. Wash the bacon, beef, and pork shoulder thoroughly, cut into pieces and fry for a few minutes in the pan. Cut the ham and put it together with the fried meat into the pot with cabbage and sauerkraut.
  5. Cut the pre-soaked mushrooms and plums into strips and put them into the pot along with allspice and juniper berries, add salt.
  6. Pour cold water so that it covers the ingredients in the pot. Cook on low heat for one hour, stirring from time to time and adding water if needed.
  7. After one hour of cooking add tomato paste or fresh tomatoes, put in hot water, peeled, and cut into quarters. Pour the wine, add marjoram, lovage, and sweet paprika and cook under a slightly tilted lid for another hour.
  8. Once cooked, season with salt and pepper to taste, let cool, and then set aside in a cool place.
  9. For better taste, for the next 3 days boil the dish once a day, bringing it to a boil for a few minutes, then cool it down and set it aside in a cool place. Finished bigos should not have too much water in it – if it does, evaporate it while cooking.
  10. Serve with fresh bread, you can decorate it with parsley.