Found in From a Polish Country House Kitchen

If you know, award-winning author Anne Applebaum as a journalist and a historian, this book is a surprise and a delight. Using the derelict manor house she and husband Radoslaw Sikorski bought in Poland as a start point, she explores Polish cuisine in this highly readable book executed with Danielle Crittenden. It offers some familiar classics, such as barszch, and some new and delicious dishes, such as her Beet, Cherry, and Garlic Salad.

One celebratory explosion of flavor worth mastering is Hunter’s Stew, or Bigos, a sensational feast in a bowl—though maybe not when your vegan friends come for dinner.

Ingredients

One and three-quarters pounds of sauerkraut

Four strips of good bacon

One small head of green cabbage, sliced thinly

A small handful of dried wild mushrooms

Half pound boneless stewing venison cut into one-inch pieces

Half a pound stewing beef cut into one-inch pieces

Half a pound of pork cut into one-inch pieces

Quarter-cup all-purpose flour

Three tablespoons of lard

One medium onion peeled and chopped coarse

One cup dry red wine

Half a pound smoked kielbasa thickly sliced

One cup pitted prunes

Salt and pepper

Directions

Drain the sauerkraut, place in a medium saucepan with the bacon cut into pieces and two cups of water. Cover and boil at medium until the bacon is fully cooked, at least 20 minutes. While it cooks, place the green cabbage and the dried mushrooms in a large saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Simmer until the cabbage is ten der, 20 to 30 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Rinse the meat and dry it, place it all in a large mixing bowl with the flour, and toss with your hands until it is fully coated.

In a very large stew pot or cast iron casserole, heat one tablespoon of the lard and cook the onion until it is soft (but not brown). Using a slotted spoon, place the cooked onion in a small bowl. Add the remaining lard and melt, then brown the meat in batches over medium heat, cooking about three minutes per side. Heap it on a plate as it is finished. When all the meat is browned, raise the temperature to high and pour in the wine, using the boiling liquid to scrape up all the fond in the pot.

Return all the meat to the pot along with its resting juices. Add the sauerkraut, the onion, kielbasa, prunes and bacon as well as the water the bacon cooked in. Salt generously and add as much pepper as you like. Bring the mixture to a boil. Turn the heat down to three hours. The meat will be breaking apart and the broth will be very rich and brown.

Ideally, make this one day to serve the next. Let it cool and stick it into the refrigerator overnight, then slowly heat it up before serving it. The best accompaniment is heavy dark rye bread.