Bigos (Polish Hunter's Stew)
A delicious stew that's naturally free from dairy and gluten. It's loaded with vegetables and amazingly rich flavor. Paleo friendly!
Ingredients
- 1 cup prunes pitted
- ½ oz dried mushrooms I used porcini. Polish borowiki mushrooms are traditional
- 2 cups hot water
- 4 pieces of bacon cut into lardons
- 1 onion medium sized, peeled and chopped
- 1 small head cabbage cored and chopped
- 1 lb sauerkraut rinsed well and drained
- 1.5 lb polish keilbasa sliced in to one inch pieces
- 1 lb pork shoulder trimmed of fat and cut into 1 inch pieces
- 28 oz canned diced tomatoes drained of the liquid
- 1 cup dry red wine
- 1 bay leaf
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Put your mushrooms and prunes in to a large heat safe bowl and pour the 2 cups of water over them. Let this soak for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure all pieces are thoroughly soaked.
- Cook the bacon in a dutch oven over medium heat until crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- Salt and pepper your pork, and brown it on all sides in the bacon fat. Once it's browned, remove the pork from the pot and set it aside with the bacon.
- Add your cabbage and onion to the pot and cook for about 10-15 minutes, until the cabbage is soft.
- Once the cabbage has cooked down a bit and softened, add in your remaining ingredients, the bacon, pork, and the mushroom and prune mixture. Pour most of the water from your mushrooms and prunes in to the pot too. The bottom of the water may be a bit sandy from the mushrooms. You don't want to use that.
- Simmer on low heat for about 3 hours. Taste the bigos to see if it needs more salt or pepper, and season to taste. Serve with a side of simple boiled potatoes and a crusty loaf of bread to soak up the delicious juices.
Nutrition
Calories: 415kcalCarbohydrates: 25gProtein: 19gFat: 25gSaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 72mgSodium: 1108mgPotassium: 819mgFiber: 6gSugar: 13gVitamin A: 326IUVitamin C: 49mgCalcium: 98mgIron: 3mg
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