Bigos

This Polish stew makes a great family dinner, packed with meat, cabbage and spices

Ingredients

• 1 white cabbage finely sliced
• 250 ml beef stock
• 100 g dried mushrooms, soaked in boiling water for 1 hr
• 2 tbsp lard
• 400 g German-style sausages, sliced
• 250 g smoked bacon, diced or sliced
• 2 onions, chopped
• 750 g cooked pork, game meat or beef, diced
• 200 g prunes
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 cloves
• 12 peppercorns
• 4 juniper berries
• 4 allspice berries
• 90 ml red wine
• 2 tbsp tomato purée

Steps

1. Put the cabbage in a heavy casserole dish, add the stock and cook over a low heat for about 50 mins, until tender.
2. Cut the soaked mushrooms into strips and save the soaking water. Heat the lard and fry the sausages and bacon, then scoop out, leaving the fat in the pan. Fry the onion in the same pan for 5-8 mins until lightly browned.
3. Add the mushrooms and their liquid along with all the cooked meat, onions and prunes, then cover and cook for 20 mins. Add the spices, red wine and tomato purée and bring to a simmer, then cover and cook for 1 hr. Season well and leave to cool. Will keep covered and chilled for up to two days. Bigos improves in flavour over a couple of days. Leave to cool first. Reheat until piping hot before serving.