A traditional Polish bigos — cabbage slowly braised with sausage, bacon and beef, sweetened with prunes and warmly spiced — even better made a day ahead.
- 1 sliced White Cabbage
- 250ml Beef Stock
- 100g Mushrooms
- 2 tablespoons Lard
- 400g German Sausages
- 250g Bacon
- 2 chopped Onion
- 750g Beef
- 200g Prunes
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 2 Cloves
- 12 Peppercorns
- 4 Juniper Berries
- 4 Allspice Berries
- 90 ml Red Wine
- 2 tablespoons Tomato Puree
Video
Preparation
- Put the cabbage in a heavy casserole, add the stock, and cook over low heat for about 50 minutes until tender.
- Cut the soaked mushrooms into strips, saving the soaking water. Heat the lard and fry the sausages and bacon, then scoop out, leaving the fat behind, and fry the onion in the same pan for 5–8 minutes until lightly browned.
- Add the mushrooms and their liquid along with all the cooked meat, onions and prunes, cover, and cook for 20 minutes.
- Add the spices, red wine and tomato purée, bring to a simmer, then cover and cook for 1 hour.
- Season well and leave to cool — bigos improves over a couple of days; cool first, then reheat until piping hot before serving. It keeps covered and chilled for up to two days.
