Bigos — Polish Hunter's Stew

Ingredients

• 1 lb Sausage, sliced
• 1 lb sauerkraut, drained (rinse half of it for balance)
• ½ small cabbage, shredded
• 8 oz mushrooms, sliced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 apple, grated
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp caraway seeds + 2 bay leaves + ½ tsp allspice
• 1½ cups stock
• Rye bread and mustard, to serve

Method

1. Brown the Sausage in a heavy pot until its fat renders and its edges crisp; set aside, keep the drippings.
2. Brown the mushrooms and onion in those drippings, 6 minutes — bigos builds its depth in layers of browning.
3. Add the sauerkraut, fresh cabbage, apple, tomato paste, spices, stock, and the Sausage. Stir well.
4. Simmer covered on LOW for at least 1 hour, stirring occasionally — traditional bigos cooks for days and gets reheated all week, improving each time like a stew with a pension plan.
5. Season (easy on salt — kraut and sausage negotiate that between themselves) and serve with rye bread and sharp mustard. Better tomorrow. Best the day after.