HUNTERS STEW (Bigos)
Poland's national dish. There is a variety in ingredients, some have mushrooms and juniper berries, while others contain apples, venison, lamb or beef. It is best made a two days in advance and reheated on low heat before serving. This enhances the flavour.

50g butter
2 onions, peeled and chopped
1 jar sauerkraut
1 can tomatoes, peeled
1 small white cabbage
300 ml strong beef stock
250g smoked sausage
5 to 6 pork ribs
salt and pepper

Melt butter in a saucepan and fry the onions until golden. Rinse the sauerkraut in cold water, drain thoroughly and mix with the onions. Add the tomatoes. Chop the cabbage finely and mix in. Add the stock, stirring well, and then the pork ribs. Slice the sausage and add into the stew. Allow to simmer on low heat for one hour. Season to taste. Remove from heat and leave covered for 24 hours. Refrigerate and reheat before serving. Serves 8.
Note: If you prefer the dish to be more sour, add more sauerkraut.

SAUERKRAUT SOUP (Kapusniak)
This is a typical polish winter soup and is very simple to make.
You will notice that sauerkraut is a common ingredient in the Polish kitchen.

25g butter
1 bay leaf
4 spare ribs
200g sauerkraut
2 dried mushrooms (soaked overnight)
1 onion (sliced)
1.25 litres water

Heat butter in a small frying pan and fry the spare ribs briskly to seal in their juices. Gently boil the ribs and all the other ingredients in the water for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sauerkraut softens. Remove the spare ribs and bay leaf, season to taste and serve. Serves 4.

DILL SOUP (Zupa Koperkowa)
Besides sauerkraut and sour cream being the common ingredient in Polish recipes, dill also plays an important part in flavouring salad dressings, boiled potatoes, sauces and soups.

15g unsalted butter
1 tbs fresh dill, chopped
500ml beef stock
1/2 tsp lemon juice
150ml sour cream
salt and pepper

Melt butter in pan, add dill and stir gently over low heat for a few minutes. Heat stock and add the dill to it. Mix in the lemon juice and cream. Season and serve. Serves 2.

BEETROOT SOUP (Barszcz)
This is a classic beetroot soup.

2 litres beef stock or vegetable stock
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 bouquet garni
1 can mushrooms (or fresh)
3 uncooked medium-sized beetroot, peeled and sliced thickly
300 ml kwas
1 tsp sugar

Heat beef stock in a large pan. Add the onion, bouquet garni, mushrooms and beetroot. Boil for an hour. Strain the soup and stir in the kwas into the clear soup. Add sugar to taste and reheat, if necessary without boiling. Serves 8.

PIEROGI FILLED WITH SAUERKRAUT AND MUSHROOMS (Pierogi z Kiszonej Kapusty)
There is a variety of filling which you can try. It is recommended that if you use mashed potatoes, the filling should be made at least a day in advance and refrigerated to allow it to dry.

For the dough:
300g plain flour
1 egg
salt
warm water

For the filling:
450g sauerkraut
150g butter
1 onion
110g fresh mushrooms
sour cream to serve

To make the dough, sift the flour, add the egg, salt and sufficient warm water to make a loose dough which holds in shape. Divide the dough into quarters and roll out thinly. Cut out circles 8.5cm in diameter.
To make the filling, chop the sauerkraut finely and saute in 50g of butter. Chop the onion and fry in 25g butter. Dice the mushrooms and fry in remaining butter. Mix everything together.
Place a heaped tablespoon of filling on each circle, fold over and press the edges firmly together to prevent them from opening while cooking. They should be well filled. Bring some salted water to boil and drop the pierogi (a few at a time). When they rise to the surface, turn the heat down and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain and serve with sour cream. Serves 8.

CABBAGE PARCELS (Golabki)
Golabki which means 'little pigeons', vary in their seasoning and stuffing from region to region. Some use rice and meat or rice and mushrooms or even potatoes and onions. These can be made a day in advance and reheated when needed.

1 large cabbage (with big leaves)
175g long grain rice
2 large onions, peeled and chopped
2 cans mushrooms or 450g fresh mushrooms
50g butter
1 1/2 litres tomato juice, vegetable stock or mushroom stock
salt and pepper for seasoning

Slice through the base of the cabbage and cook in lightly salted boiling water until tender. When the leaves are tender, peel off. You may have to peel the first layers first and then return the cabbage to cook and continue peeling the leaves until all are done.
Boil the rice until just tender. Drain and set aside. Fry the onions in 50g butter until softened. Dice the mushrooms and fry lightly with the onions. Mix with the rice and season well. Place a spoonful of the rice mixture in each cabbage leaf and wrap it carefully, folding the ends under like a parcel.
Heat the oven to 200C/400F. Grease a roasting pan and fill it with cabbage parcels, packing them tightly together. Pour over enough tomato juice, vegetable stock or mushroom stock to cover them. Cover and bake in oven for 20 minutes. Remove cover and bake for another 10 minutes to brown the cabbage parcels lightly. Serves 6.

POTATO PANCAKES (Placki Kartoflane)
This is a typical Polish dish. This should be served hot, preferably directly from the frying pan or you can keep them warm in the oven.

3 large potatoes
1 small onion
salt and pepper
oil for frying
300 ml sour cream

Peel potatoes and onion and grate coarsely. Mix well and squeeze out as much excess liquid as possible. Season. Pour enough oil in frying pan. When pan is hot, put in large spoonfuls of the potato mixture and immediately flatten. They should be quite thin. When the underside is brown, turn it slowly to cook the other side. Serve with sour cream. Serves 4.

POTATO CUTLETS (Kotlety Ziemniaczane)
This should be served with dill sauce

1 kg potatoes
2 eggs
50g plain flour
50g onion
25g butter
salt and pepper
50g dried breadcrumbs
butter/oil for frying

Peel and slice the potatoes and boil until soft. Mash thoroughly and leave to cool. Mix in eggs and flour. Dice the onion, fry in the butter until lightly browned and mix with the potatoes. Mash all again very thoroughly and season. Form the dough into a roll about 5cm thick and cut diagonally into 3 cm pieces. Form into cutlets, coat with breadcrumbs and fry on both sides in hot butter/oil until golden brown.

For the Dill Sauce:
25g butter
1 tbs flour
300 ml chicken stock or milk
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp chopped fresh dill

Heat the butter in a saucepan. Add flour and mix well. Gradually stir in stock or milk until it is a consistency of single cream. Stir in lemon juice and bring to boil, then add the dill. Simmer for 3 minutes before serving. Makes approx. 300 ml.