Have you ever wondered about the origin of the saying ‘it tastes just like my mom’s’? Wherever you go, you’ll find there the same or similar slogans. What if this mom doesn’t really cook well? It’s a question I have always wondered about. While watching Kitchen Nightmares and Magda Gessler’s culinary experiments, in every second episode of the show one would see the restaurant guests amazed with the dishes being served, which out of thin air, were just like their mom’s. The more creative guests would add their grandmas to the whole story… It turns out that there’s a grain of truth in all sayings you can think of. The same in the case of the mama’s one! Since I moved out, I’d say there’s no place like home, my mom’s home! All in all, the best and the most nutritious food is served to me only by my mom. That’s why, today I’d like to present you a recipe for my favorite hunter’s stew (bigos), which of course tastes best when my mom prepares it.

Ingredients (not exact proportions, depending on how much hunter’s stew you want to prepare):

• 2 kg of sauerkraut
• 2 kg of white cabbage
• different kinds of meat: chuck steak, pork shoulder, bacon
• sausage
• dried mushrooms
• prunes
• 1 jar of plum jam
• a glass (250 ml) of semi-sweet red wine
• tomato paste
• 3 onions
• salt
• pepper
• marjoram
• allspice
• whole pepper grains
• bay leaf
• juniper berries
• oil

Preparation:

Chop the meat and sausages in dices. Next, fry everything with some onions on the frying pan. Chop the sauerkraut and drain it off the extra juice, you don’t need. Chop the cabbage and blanch it with hot water. Boil both cabbages (the white one and the sauerkraut one) in water until they get soft. After around an hour add the spices and herbs, namely salt, pepper, marjoram, allspice, whole pepper grains, bay leaf and juniper berries. Add chopped dried mushrooms (you need to soak them in water before, so that they become soft again). Mix everything carefully. Next, add the earlier fried meat and sausages. Mix everything carefully again. Remember that the hunter’s stew should be cooked on a low heat and that you should stir everything from time to time, so that the cabbage doesn’t burn at the bottom of the pot. Chop the prunes and add them to the hunter’s stew. To make its taste a bit stronger you can also add a jar of plum jam. You should add a glass of red wine when all the ingredients are already in the pot. Cook this dish until all its ingredients become soft and all the aromas and flavors mix together. Hunter’s stew tastes better when it’s heated a few times. It can be served with some fresh bread. Bon Appetit!

See you around!

Yours,

Passion Piece