In addition to dumplings and dumplings, Christmas Eve bigos also appears on the table on December 24 in many Polish homes. My family has been preparing it with unique additions for years, which makes it delicious.
Although cabbage is the basis, a certain fruity accent thrown in makes this traditional dish take on a new, more expressive character. It smells and tastes so good that it’s hard to resist a helping of it during the holidays.
Properly selected additions to bigos can deepen its flavor and give it a more “holiday” character. It is worth betting especially on because fruits in this form break the acidity and at the same time are slightly sweet and have a smoky aftertaste.
Thanks to this, the fasting dish does not have a flat taste and is more velvety. Important ingredients of bigos are also dried mushrooms, which make the traditional dish noble, bay leaf and allspice, which add a slight spice to the food, as well as cumin and marjoram. Spices also have a positive effect on digestion.
If you like to experiment, add peppers and smoked bacon to the bigos (unless you’re fasting or you want to eat it only on Christmas Day, not on Christmas Eve).
Also consider adding water to the stewed cabbage after cooking the mushrooms to give the bigos more of a forest flavor.. This will also help the flavors blend better.
Before you start preparing the Christmas Eve bigos, make sure you have medium-sour, firm and crunchy sauerkraut. It is best if it is chopped, not in heads. Also check if you have purchased all the necessary spices and other additives.
Recipe for Christmas Eve bigos – ingredients:
- sauerkraut – 800 g
- dried mushrooms – 40 g (preferably boletes/boletes)
- dried plums – 12-14 pieces
- onion – 2 pieces
- bay leaf – 4-5 pieces
- allspice – 7 grains
- cumin – 1 teaspoon
- marjoram – 2 teaspoons
- oil/clarified butter – 2 tablespoons
- salt, ground pepper – as desired
- water (can be from soaking mushrooms) – 500 ml
Pour hot water over the mushrooms and set aside for about 40 minutes. Then strain, reserving the water, and chop the mushrooms. you can rinse it if it turns out to be too acidic. Then chop it and put it in a large pot. Add mushrooms, water, bay leaves, allspice and cumin.
Cook over low heat for 60 minutes, stirring the ingredients occasionally. Chop the onion finely and fry in fat. When it is properly prepared, add it to the pot with the cabbage.
Add the cut plums and then cook the Christmas Eve dish for another 20 minutes. At the very end, add marjoram, season with salt and pepper. Remove the bay leaves and allspice. After 15 minutes, you can put the bigos on plates, but remember that it tastes best the next day.
