Food what else! here is my recipe for Polish Bigos sometimes translated as hunter’s stew, all quantities are variable to suit your own particular taste. Tradition has it you add whatever meat you caught hunting. Sauerkraut is pickled cabbage and so is salty and this acts as the preservative. Ingredients (for an adequate sufficiency) Large jar or vacuum pack of sauerkraut (some have carrot shreds and/or white wine added) Small or half white cabbage (this makes the taste milder but is not strictly necessary) Onions (2 or 3 medium) Smoked meats, hock, sausages (NB Polish smoked sausage is already cooked) Tomato puree (to taste, also adds colour) Mushroom stock cube (1/2) – (Polish mushroom cubes have Penny Bun/boletus edulis in them) Peppercorns (5 gently crushed) Paprika (4 or 5 teaspoons and smoked if available, adds a distinctive flavour) Allspice berries (5 gently crushed) Bay leaves (3 or 4) Juniper berries (5 gently crushed) NO salt as it is in the sauerkraut Instructions If sauerkraut taste is too strong you can squeeze out some of the juice from the jar and replace it with any stock you have to hand. I chop the sauerkraut in the jar in half or quarters with a vertical knife to shorten the strands. Chop white cabbage into thin strands, Cook the cabbage with the sauerkraut in microwave (30 mins) or on hob (keep lid on and there should be no need to add water) Chop & sweat onions in a pan and add to the sauerkraut mix Add tomato puree & bay leaves I sometimes add a little beer or glass of red wine too Add the spices to a tiny bit of oil & fry a tiny bit and add to mix Crumble half a mushroom cube into the mix. Grill any sausages before adding if they are not already cooked! Add the smoked meats (or unsmoked if you prefer). Cook the combined ingredients slowly on the hob or in an oven, I generally leave it cooking at least a 2 hours or more! Like other similar dishes the flavour improves with re-heating. Serve With boiled potatoes or thick sour dough rye bread with unsalted butter to taste. Variations: add smoked bacon, mushrooms, chopped apple or other bits of meat, add a flour/butter roux, I frequently pre-soak a selection of dried mushrooms and add this to the mix. Enjoy and best wishes from Tosh.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Jun 2013 17:19:19 +0000
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