Bigos: A polish hunter’s stew

I know spring is happening in other parts of the country and people are craving salads and fresh veggies, but here in San Diego we’re in the middle of a few rainy weekends. If you’re looking for a warm hearty dish to simmer on your stove for an at-home afternoon, try this Bigos: a Polish hunter’s stew.Pretty standard stewing procedure: brown your meat, saute your aromatics in the rendered fat, add meat, veggies, and liquid to the pot and simmer happily away until delicious. This made for an easy week of lazy, comforting dinners.

Bigos

• Servings: 8-10
• Time: 1 hour active, 2-6 hours simmering
• Difficulty: Easy
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Adapted from New York Times Cooking

INGREDIENTS

1 pound beef stew meat
Salt and pepper, to taste
Vegetable oil, as needed
1 pound boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1-inch chunks
¾ pound smoked kielbasa, cut into 1/2-inch coins
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 ½ tablespoons whole caraway seed
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 large onion, sliced 1/4-inch thin
3 medium carrots, grated
32 ounces canned diced tomatoes, with juice
1 pound cabbage, sliced 1/4-inch thin
1 pound sauerkraut
3 bay leaves
Rye bread, for serving.
PREPARATION
Pat the beef very dry with paper towel. Season it with salt and pepper. Over medium-high heat, slick a large, heavy pot with oil. When the oil shimmers, sear the beef in one layer until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Remove to a large bowl. Pour off the fat from the pot, add 1/4 cup water and stir to dissolve the browned bits. Pour these juices into the seared meat. Rinse and wipe out the pot, and repeat this process with the pork shoulder.
Place the clean pot over medium heat with a slick of oil. While it heats, add the kielbasa in 1 layer. Brown it until deep golden, about 2 minutes per side. Remove the kielbasa to the seared-meat bowl, but keep the fat in the pot.
Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, then add the caraway seed and allspice, and stir for 20 seconds or until very fragrant. Add the onion and a few pinches of salt. Stir to pick up any browned bits; if the bottom of the pot looks dry, add a few splashes of water. Cook the onions, stirring frequently, until soft, about 10 minutes.
Add the carrots, tomatoes, seared meat and juices, and raise the heat to high. When it boils, add the cabbage and sauerkraut. Cook, stirring, until the cabbage is wilted and has released its juices. The liquid should nearly submerge the solids; add water if needed. Bring the pot to a simmer, add the bay leaves, then turn heat down to low to maintain a barely bubbling simmer, and cover the pot, leaving the lid slightly ajar.
Simmer the stew for 2 to 6 hours. At 2 hours, the meat should be tender and the flavor of the bigos will be bright and acidic. At 4 hours, the meat and cabbage will be very tender, with a balanced flavor. (This is my preference.) At 6 hours, which is more traditional, the meat will be falling apart into the cabbage. Adjust seasoning with salt or pepper to taste, and serve with rye bread.

Cassoulet – a French bean stew

This white bean Cassoulet has become a favorite in our household. For the past 6 years, I have made it once every winter, choosing a blustery day when we’re home working on various house projects. Beware, it does take about 6 hours from start to finish, but with plenty of time in the oven while you can do other things. And it will make your house smell AMAZING!Chop up 4 slices of thick cut bacon and render them in your dutch oven. Brown the lamb and set aside. (If you do not like lamb, or cannot find it, beef stew meat is a pretty good substitute). Brown the chicken thighs and set aside. Dump out all of the rendered fat, reserving about 1-2 tablespoons. Sauté chopped onions in the remaining fat. Add tomato paste and garlic. Whisk in chicken broth and water, and nestle in the browned meats. Braise this in your oven for 2 and a half hours. Add 4 cans of white beans, and return to your oven for another hour and ten minutes.
Top with bread crumbs and brown in the oven. 

Serve with a hunk of crusty bread and a fresh green salad.  This is a delicious meal to enjoy on a cool winter evening.

White Bean Cassoulet

• Servings: 10-12
• Time: 6 hours
• Difficulty: Medium
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(adapted from Cooking Light)

Ingredients

• 1/4 c salt
• 6 chicken leg quarters (I used boneless and skinless and the meat was still very moist)
• 4 bacon strips, sliced
• 3/4 lb lamb, cut into cubes
• 1.5 c onion chopped
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
• 1/4 c tomato puree
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 c chicken broth
• 2 c water
• 3-4 15 oz cans of great northern beans, drained (I could only fit 3 in my pot)
• 8 oz cooked spicy Italian sausage, sliced
• 1/4 c breadcrumbs

Rub salt evenly over the chicken, cover and refrigerate 30 min. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add bacon to pan; cook 7 minutes or until crisp, stirring occasionally. Remove bacon and set aside. Increase heat to medium-high. Add lamb to the bacon grease and cook 8 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove lamb and set aside. Rinse chicken with cold water and pat dry. Add 2-3 legs to pan at a time, cook over medium heat 15 minutes or until golden brown. Flip and brown 10 minutes on other side, remove and set aside. Repeat until all chicken is browned.  Discard all but 1-2 tablespoons of rendered fat.

Add onion and pepper to pan, stirring to scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Sauté onion until lightly browned. Stir in tomato puree and garlic, cook briefly.  Return lamb and chicken to pan. Add broth and water until covered. Cover and bake at 300  degrees for 2 and a half hours or until lamb and chicken are very tender. Taste and adjust seasoning if desired.

Increase oven temperature to 375 degrees. Stir 2 cans of beans into lamb mixture. Add bacon and sausage. Top mixture with remaining beans (whatever you can fit). Sprinkle breadcrumbs evenly over top. Cover and cook 1 hour and 10 minutes. Uncover and cook an additional 20 minutes or until browned and bubbly.