Vegan Bigos Recipe

Many years ago, my fiancee spent a few years in Poland  While there, bigos became one of his favorite Polish dishes. For years he'd tell me how much he wanted it. One day I browsed the internet, found several recipes, and pieced them together to make the finished product for him. He loved it!

Currently, I am trying to eat a more vegan diet, while eliminating harmful substances from my diet. On top of this, I am not supposed to eat soy, garlic, and gluten, among other things, which makes meal planning difficult.

I had a head of cabbage in my refrigerator and figured I'd try adapting the recipe to make vegan bigos. At first, it tasted okay, but not as good at the original, so I let it sit in the refrigerator for a few days. I tried it again and it is so much better! It's definitely gets better with age. I'm here to share the recipe with you in the hopes that you can enjoy it too!



*Note: It looks absolutely hideous and disgusting, but it's really not.

Recipe:
Ingredients:
- 1 c dried mushrooms (any should work, I used shiitake)
- 1 small container of fresh sliced mushrooms
- 2 sweet onions
- 1 head cabbage
- 1 25oz jar saurkraut (I used a smaller jar since it was the only one I could find without added chemicals)
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp caraway seeds
- 2 tbsp dried marjoram
- 20 prunes, sliced
- 2 cups water
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 apples, peeled cored and sliced
- 3 large tomatoes
- 1 cup dry red wine
- *3 cloves garlic (I can't use it, but feel free to add it to your batch!)
- salt to taste
- liquid smoke to taste

- Start by bringing the water to a boil then immediately remove it from the heat. Throw the dried mushrooms into the water and let it soak for a few minutes to make a mushroom broth.

- Chop up all the veggies and fruits and toss them into a large pot. Throw all the seasonings & wine into the pot.

- When the mushroom broth is done, throw it in the pot as well.

- Turn the heat on the stove and get the broth boiling again. Once it's boiling, lower it to a simmer, cover the pot, and cook for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

- Everything should turn to a mush. When it's done, you can eat it or let it sit for a few days to let the flavors mingle.

- Enjoy!