Рецепт Bigos (Polish Hunter's Stew)
Polska piątek (Polish Friday) #7
As Polish dishes go, bigos is about as traditional as you can get. You'll be sure to find it in the food booths at any festival in the old square. A simmering pot of several meats, wine, mushrooms, and sauerkraut - the perfect thing to warm the heart and the belly.
This bigos recipe is adapted from Nela's Cookbook. I left it on the stove overnight on very low heat, I guess that's the equivalent of putting it in a crock-pot. With the slow cooking, the flavors mellowed and blended. It was hearty and delicious!
This differs from my earlier attempt at bigos in a few ways. My other recipe includes beef as well as pork, and it didn't include the caraway seeds or the grated apple. I think from now on, I'll make Nela's recipe and add a little beef.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds pork, diced
- salt and pepper
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 medium onions, sliced
- 1 pound slab bacon, diced
- 2 cups beef broth, or water and Knorr bullion cube
- 1 container mushrooms, sliced
- 2 pounds sauerkraut, drained and rinsed
- 4 apples, peeled, cored and grated
- 2 pounds canned diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 tablespoon caraway seeds
- 12 peppercrons
- 1 pound Polish sausage
- 2 bay leave
- 1/2 pound ham
- 1/2 cup dry red wine
Directions
Season the pork with salt and pepper.
Add olive oil to a large dutch oven, and saute the pork and onions in batches, cooking until the pork is browned and the onions begin to caramelize.
Brown the bacon.
Combine all the ingredients, and simmer at least two hours, or overnight. This is something that will be even better the next day.
Note: Ed just had bigos that one of his Polish co-workers brought to work. It included plums! How's that for a surprise ingredient.
Next up (in two weeks): Kapusniak (Sauerkraut Soup)