Today we’re off to Poland—a country with a rich culinary history, where every dish tells its own story. We’ll cook two iconic recipes that Poles have been making for centuries and consider symbols of their national cuisine.
🥘 Bigos
The legendary Polish dish—braised sauerkraut with meat, smoked meats, and prunes. Thick, aromatic, with a deep flavor that only gets better when reheated.
Ingredients:
• Sauerkraut — 800 g
• Fresh white cabbage — 400 g
• Pork belly — 300 g
• Smoked sausage (Kraków sausage or hunter’s sausages) — 200 g
• Bacon — 150 g
• Pork shoulder — 300 g
• Pitted prunes — 100 g
• Yellow onion — 2 large bulbs
• Tomato paste — 2 tbsp
• Dry red wine — 150 ml
• Bay leaves — 3
• Whole allspice — 8
• Juniper berries — 5-6 (optional)
• Salt, black pepper — to taste
• Vegetable oil — 2 tbsp
Preparation:
Step 1. Preparing the cabbage
Drain the sauerkraut but don’t rinse it—its acidity gives the dish its signature tang. If it’s too sour, rinse with cold water. Shred the fresh cabbage into 3-4 mm strips. In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, mix both types of cabbage, add 200 ml of water, bring to a boil, then simmer covered on low heat for 40 minutes. The cabbage should soften but keep its structure.
Step 2. Browning the meat
Cut the pork shoulder and belly into 2×2 cm cubes. Slice the bacon into 1 cm strips. Heat a skillet with vegetable oil over high heat. Brown the meat in batches for 3-4 minutes until golden—don’t stir too often; let a crust form. Transfer the browned meat to the cabbage.
Step 3. Preparing the smoked meats and onion
Slice the smoked sausage into 1 cm rounds, then quarter each round. Dice the onion into 5×5 mm cubes. In the same skillet, crisp the bacon (4-5 minutes), add the onion, and cook another 5 minutes until golden and soft. The onion should turn translucent and slightly sweet.
Step 4. Assembling the bigos
Add the bacon-onion mix, smoked sausage, prunes (whole or halved), tomato paste, wine, bay leaves, allspice, and juniper berries to the cabbage and meat. Stir, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on low heat for 1.5-2 hours, stirring occasionally. The bigos is ready when all the ingredients have absorbed each other’s juices, the liquid has nearly evaporated, and the mass has turned thick and dark.
Step 5. Resting and serving
Remove from heat and let the bigos cool, then rest for at least 2-3 hours—overnight in the fridge is even better. Before serving, reheat on low heat for 15-20 minutes. Taste for salt and pepper, adjust as needed. Serve hot with rye bread or boiled potatoes. The bigos should be so thick a spoon can stand upright in it.
Step 6. Storage
Bigos is one of the few dishes that tastes better with every reheat. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days, reheating portions as needed. Each reheat deepens the flavor—Poles say real bigos needs to be reheated seven times.
💡 Fact: Bigos is called "hunter’s stew"—it was traditionally made after a hunt, using game and smoked meats. In nobleman’s manors, bigos would simmer in the oven for days, reheated daily to maximize its rich flavor.
🍲 Żurek
A sour rye soup on fermented starter, with white sausage, egg, and horseradish—one of the main symbols of Polish cuisine. Thick, hearty, with a signature tang and smoky aroma of smoked meats.
Ingredients:
For the starter (prepare 3-5 days ahead):
• Coarse rye flour — 100 g
• Warm boiled water — 300 ml
• Garlic — 2 cloves
• Bay leaf — 1
• Whole allspice — 3
For the soup:
• Prepared starter — 300-400 ml
• Smoked pork ribs — 400 g
• White sausage (biała kiełbasa) or regular sausages — 400 g
• Potatoes — 4 medium
• Carrot — 1 large
• Parsley root or parsnip — 1 (optional)
• Yellow onion — 1 large bulb
• Garlic — 4 cloves
• Sour cream — 150 ml
• Grated horseradish (fresh or jarred) — 2 tbsp
• Dried marjoram — 1 tsp
• Bay leaves — 2
• Whole allspice — 5
• Eggs — 4 (for serving)
• Salt, black pepper — to taste
• Fresh dill — a small bunch
Preparing the starter (3-5 days ahead):
Step 1. Making the starter
In a 0.5 L glass jar, combine the rye flour, warm (not hot!) water at 30-35°C, crushed garlic cloves, bay leaf, and allspice. Stir with a wooden spoon until smooth—the consistency should be like thin sour cream. Cover the jar with cheesecloth (not a lid—air needs to circulate) and leave at room temperature (20-22°C) for 3-5 days. Stir daily. The starter is ready when it develops a sour smell, bubbles on the surface, and a white film—signs of fermentation.
Preparing the soup:
Step 2. Making the broth
Rinse the smoked ribs, place in a 3-4 L pot, and cover with 2.5 L of cold water. Add a whole peeled onion, halved carrot, parsley root, bay leaves, and allspice. Bring to a boil, skim off the foam, reduce heat to low, and simmer covered for 1.5 hours. The broth should turn rich, golden, and fragrant with smoked notes.
Step 3. Prepping the ingredients
Peel and dice the potatoes into 1.5×1.5 cm cubes. Slice the white sausage into 1.5 cm rounds. Mince the garlic or press it. Strain the broth, discarding the vegetables and spices. Remove the meat from the ribs, cut into small pieces, and return to the broth.
Step 4. Cooking the soup
Return the broth with meat to the heat and bring to a boil. Add the potatoes and cook for 10 minutes until semi-soft—they should be fork-tender but still hold their shape. Add the white sausage and cook another 5-7 minutes. The sausage is ready when it’s slightly swollen and heated through.
Step 5. Adding the starter
Strain the starter through a fine sieve, separating the liquid from the sediment. Ladle some hot broth into a separate bowl, mix in the strained starter (300-400 ml, depending on desired sourness), and stir. Pour this mixture back into the soup in a thin stream, stirring constantly to distribute the starter evenly and prevent curdling. Bring to a boil, then turn off the heat immediately.
Step 6. Finishing touches
Add the sour cream, grated horseradish, minced garlic, and marjoram. Stir, taste for salt and pepper. The soup should be pleasantly sour, with a slight kick from the horseradish and a garlicky aroma. Let it steep covered for 10 minutes. Hard-boil the eggs (9-10 minutes), peel, and halve them.
Step 7. Serving
Ladle the żurek into deep bowls, place a halved egg in each, and sprinkle with finely chopped dill. Serve with rye bread. Traditionally, żurek is served in a hollowed-out loaf of bread—not just for looks, but so the bread soaks up the soup’s aroma.
💡 Fact: Żurek is a must on the Polish Easter table. On Holy Saturday, it’s blessed in church alongside other foods. The white sausage (biała kiełbasa) for żurek isn’t smoked—it’s only boiled, made specifically for this soup, and eaten fresh.