Bigoś

Bigoś - a traditional Polish dish

Polish food, beer and vodkas (there are many) are quite special and difficult to find in Britain outside the best delicatessen and Polish communities. This is a recipe based on the central European staple of saurkraut. Saurkraut is made by fermenting cabbage in great vats on farms from Alsace in France (choucroute), in Germany and across north east of Europe. Brown 'Boletus' mushrooms are the other great Polish ingredient, and excellent dried. These are difficult to find, but are abundant in Poland, especially in Autumn when you will see people selling them in vast quantities along the main roads out of Warsaw. Mushroom picking is also a national past time. When Lech Welesa was first summoned to be President he was out mushroom picking. And rumour has it he was out of contact for days...

The tradition of this Polish stew goes back centuries, and every ancient Polish manor had a Bigos recipe in its house cookbook. The ingredients were kept in good supply in larders, and the stew was taken on long road journeys and eaten on feast days. While the stew cooked in a huge pot, the hunters drank crystal clear, gold-flecked vodka from Gdansk. It's a great recipe for venison which has a tendency to dry out when cooked by other methods; used in Bigos, it becomes tender, juicy, and full of flavour.

For 4-6 Persons.
Preparation time: 1 hour; cooking: 2 to 3 hours

Ingredients:

500gm (1lb) White Cabbage
500 gm Sauerkraut (1lb)
40cc Water (1 pt)
300 g Sausage, any variety (¾ lb)
250 g Boiled ham (½ lb.)
250 g Roast pork (½ lb)
250 g Roast beef (½ lb)
6 Boletus dried mushrooms (try a delicatessen)
6 Stoned prunes		 6 Juniper berries, crushed
6 Peppercorns
1 Bay leaf
1 Onion
2 Cooking apples
7.5cc Red wine, dry or Madiera (1/6 pt)
1 tsp Honey
1 tbs Lard
Salt and pepper to taste
Note: the type and quantity of the meat you add depends on what you prefer. Sausage is usually smoked sausage and can be bockwurst found in Aldi and other supermarkets to Wielska, 'village' sausage which you can buy from delicatessen. Roast duck or venison and roasting gravies are often used in bigoś. A squirt of tomato purée is also often added.

Preparation:

  1. Rinse the mushrooms, cover with a little warm water and leave to soak for 15 minutes. Cook the mushrooms in their soaking liquid for 30 minutes, drain and cut into strips. Keep the mushroom stock. If you cannot get dried Polish mushrooms you could add any mushrooms and save the preparation.
  2. Drain the excess juices from the sauerkraut (if necessary: chop it finely).
  3. Chop the cabbage, pour boiling water over it and drain.
  4. Peel the apples and cut into cubes.
  5. Peel and chop the onions, lightly fry them in 1 tbs of lard.

Method:

Put the cabbage and the sauerkraut into a large saucepan, add onions, mushrooms, mushroom stock, apples, prunes, crushed juniper, bay leaf and peppercorns.

Add 40cc of boiling water, cover and cook (low heat) for 1½ hours.

Cut the meats into cubes. Slice the sausage and fry it lightly in lard. Add all to the pan. Pour the red wine in, add 1 tsp honey and cook for a further 40 minutes.

Stir frequently taking care not to burn it.

Serving

Bigos can be reheated for several days. In fact it's flavour improves as it matures, tastes best on the third day.

Serve hot with wholemeal or Polish dark sour rye bread.

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Last updated Dec 2000