Bigos (Polish Hunter's Stew)

by Tom Ashworth

10 servings

Dried Mushrooms

• 1 ½ cupsdried mushrooms (porcini or other forest mushrooms)
• 1 ½ cupswater, for soaking

Stew

• 250 gpork shoulder
• 250 gbeef chuck
• 1 tspsalt, for the meat
• black pepper, for the meat
• 2 to 3 tbspoil
• 6 slicessmoked bacon
• 1large onion
• 225 gbutton mushrooms
• 1 headsmall head of white cabbage
• 500 gsmoked kielbasa
• 250 mlchicken, beef or vegetable stock
• 170 gtomato paste
• 2 tspsalt
• 4 to 5 leavesbay leaves
• 1 clovegarlic
• 10whole black peppercorns
• 10whole allspice berries
• ½ tspground black pepper
• 1.5 kgsauerkraut
• 6pitted prunes