Bigos

Lovely Polish stew full of meat and sauerkraut. 

Bigos (from Good Food Magazine October 2015)
(Serves 4-6)

50g butter
1 onion, sliced
1 tsp juniper berries, crushed
½ tsp caraway seeds
300g lean pork belly, cubed
1 tbsp brown sugar
500g sauerkraut
half white cabbage, shredded
200g fresh chopped tomatoes or 400g tin chopped tomatoes
500ml chicken or beef stock
10g dried mushroom
300g smoked Polish sausage, such as kabanos, chopped
1 apple, grated
salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a large casserole. Add the onion and sauté over a medium heat until the onion is softened and translucent. Sprinkle over the juniper berries and caraway seeds, then add the pork. Sprinkle over the brown sugar. Turn the heat up for a couple of mins, turning the meat so it browns well.

Drain the sauerkraut and squeeze out the excess water. Add to the casserole with the white cabbage and tomatoes, then pour over the stock. Simmer for about 30 mins.

Meanwhile, soak the dried mushrooms in warm water. When they have softened, drain, adding their soaking liquor to the meat. Chop the mushrooms finely and add these to the casserole, along with the sausage and apple. Simmer for another 1 hr 30 mins and serve.

Daring Cooks August 2010: Pierogi

The August 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by LizG of Bits n’ Bites and Anula of Anula’s Kitchen. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make pierogi from scratch and an optional challenge to provide one filling that best represents their locale.

I really enjoyed this challenge. I love making both the filling and the dumpling wrapper and managed to get flour all over the kitchen in the process, but it was fun! I have only ever eaten store bought pierogi before but these were so much better and the frying tip was spot on. It makes them lovely and crispy on the outside and more interesting, to my mind, than just boiled ones.

I made the Russian style pierogi and halved the recipe as I was making them just for me but I still ended up with 25 dumplings and enough filling leftover to make four potato cakes to have with dinner! not sure how I managed that! I didn't have time to think of ideas for local fillings, so I missed out that bit of the challenge but I can totally recommend the Russian style ones, they were delicious.



Russian Style Pierogi
(makes 4 generous servings, around 30 dumplings)

Dough:
2 to 2 1/2 cups (300 to 375 g) all-purpose (plain) flour
1 large egg
1 teaspoon (5 ml) salt
About 1 cup (250 ml) lukewarm water

Filling:
3 big potatoes, cooked & mashed (1 1/2 cup instant or leftover mashed potatoes is fine too)
1 cup (225 g) cottage cheese, drained
1 onion, diced & sauteed in butter until clear
3 slices of streaky bacon, diced and fried till crispy (you can add more bacon if you like or omit that part completely if you’re vegetarian)
1 egg yolk (from medium egg)
1 tablespoon (15 g) butter, melted
1/4 (1.25 ml) teaspoon salt
pinch of pepper to taste

Combine all the ingredients for the filling (it’s best to use one’s hands to do that) put into the bowl, cover and set aside in the fridge until you have to use it.



Place 2 cups flour in a large bowl or on a work surface and make a well in the center. Break the egg into it, add the salt and a little lukewarm at a time (in my situation 1/2 cup was enough). Bring the dough together, kneading well and adding more flour or water as necessary. Cover the dough with a bowl or towel. You’re aiming for soft dough. Let it rest 20 minutes.




On a floured work surface, roll the dough out thinly (1/8” or about 3 millimeters) cut with a 2-inch (5 cm) round or glass (personally I used 4-inch/10 cm cutter as it makes nice size pierogi - this way I got around 30 of them and 1 full, heaped teaspoon of filling is perfect for that size).



Spoon a portion (teaspoon will be the best) of the filling into the middle of each circle. Fold dough in half and pinch edges together. Gather scraps, re-roll and fill. Repeat with remaining dough.



Bring a large, low saucepan of salted water to boil. Drop in the pierogi, not too many, only single layer in the pan! Return to the boil and reduce heat. When the pierogi rise to the surface, continue to simmer a few minutes more ( usually about 5 minutes). Remove one dumpling with a slotted spoon and taste if ready. When satisfied, remove remaining pierogi from the water.



Serve immediately preferably with creme fraiche or fry. Cold pierogi can be fried. Boiled Russian pierogi can be easily frozen and boiled taken out straight from the freezer.

Sausages with Sauerkraut

The area of London which I have now moved to has a large Eastern European population which means that getting hold of ingredients for this sort of cuisine is really easy. I had a large jar of Sauerkraut which had been lurking in the back of my fridge for ages and really needed using. I love eating sauerkraut with bratwurst, but I found this sausages with sauerkraut recipe in Nigella Express and wanted to try it.



Its the first time that I have tried these sort of smoked sausages before, and they were really tasty, the packet said that I could eat them hot or cold, which is really good for salads and packed lunches. The recipe was really simple just bung everything in the oven and wait! I served it with Pierogis that I bought ready made in the supermarket, and a dollop of creme fraiche, but I found the pierogis disappointing, maybe potato in pasta is just too much carb for me. Nigella recommends steamed potatoes so maybe I'll try that with them next time.

Sausages with Sauerkraut (from Nigella Express)
(Serves 6)

1 large jar of Sauekraut, rinsed in cold water and drained
2 tsp juniper berries
3 dried bay leaves
8 smoked sausages, cut into smaller lengths if wished
1 x 75cl bottle Riesling wine
1 tsp white pepper corns

Preheat the oven to 200C. Cover the bottom of a small to medium roasting tin with the drained sauerkraut.

Add the juniper berries, bay leaves and sausages.

Pour in the wine and sprinkle the peppercorns over.

Bring the tin to a boil on top of the hob, then cover with foil and put in the oven to cook for 30 mins. Serve with German mustard.