Bigus

Bigus is a traditional dish of Polish, Lithuanian, Belarusian and Russian cuisines, which enchants with its taste and aroma. This dish is prepared simply, as the ingredients themselves come to the rescue, which secrete juice and fat, which is so necessary for bigus to become rich and truly delicious.

Ingredients

• White cabbage - 500 grams
• Sauerkraut - 400 g
• Large onions - 1 piece
• Large carrots - 1 piece
• Fresh pork ribs - 400 g
• Pitted prunes - 150 grams
• Salt
• Ground black pepper
• Bay leaf - 2-3 pieces

Directions

1. To begin, peel the carrots and rinse well under running water. Shake the ingredient on a cutting board with a large grater and immediately after that - transfer the chopped vegetables to a plate.
2. Peel an onion with a knife and wash well under running water. Then on a cutting board cut the ingredient into two halves, and grind each piece with a knife into thin strips. The processed component is transferred to a clean plate.
3. Remove the first layer of cabbage leaves with your hands, then wash under running water. On a cutting board with a knife shake the ingredient on a medium straw.
4. So, on a cutting board with a knife cut the pork ribs into small pieces so that each piece had a bone.
5. Dried fruits usually accumulate a lot of dust and dirt. That's why you try to process such products almost always when cooking. In this regard, wash the prunes well under running warm water. Then put it in a deep bowl and pour the component with hot water. Leave for 5 minutes to soften and disinfect again due to the high water temperature. And then drain the water, once again wash the dried fruit under running warm water and leave in a bowl for a while aside. And so that the ingredient of the dish during this time does not dry out when interacting with air, the dishes can be wrapped in cling film.
6. Put pieces of pork ribs in a deep frying pan or bowl. Put the container on medium heat and, stirring constantly with a wooden spatula of the main ingredient, fry the meat until dark golden and formed on the surface of the golden crust for 10-15 minutes
7. Now add the shredded carrots to the container, salt and pepper to taste the ingredients, add 2-3 bay leaves and mix well with a spatula. Fry for another 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until the carrot component is soft.
8. Here comes an important point with the ingredient, without which our bigus is no bigus! Put sauerkraut in a saucepan, preferably with juice. Mix everything well with a spatula and now cover the container with a lid. Stew on low heat for 15 minutes.
9. At the end of the allotted time, open the lid of the skillet and add to our ingredients shredded white cabbage. This vegetable will very quickly begin to secrete juice and decrease in size. That's why don't worry if you think that shredded cabbage is much more in quantity than other ingredients. Again, mix everything well with a spatula and cover with a lid, simmer for 1 hour.
10. An hour later, open the lid of the skillet and add the processed prunes to the ingredients. Note: even if the dried fruits are large in size, in any case do not cut them into small pieces, otherwise the prunes will start to spread from high temperature and cabbage acid and turn into a jelly-like pulp. Mix everything well with a wooden spatula and stew the ingredients of the bigus for another 15 minutes under the lid. At the end of these minutes, turn off the heat, once again mix everything well with a spatula and cover the container, leave our dish aside for 10-15 minutes to infuse and soak in juices.
11. Immediately after cooking, bigus can and should be served with slices of bread and a glass of chilled vodka. There is a story that this dish migrated from Lithuania to Poland thanks to King Wladyslaw Jagiello, who loved to taste this wonderful and very tasty dish in between hunts, when he stopped at a halt. That is why we can treat our guests with bigus not only on a holiday, but also after walks in the autumn city or in the park on a frosty but sunny day.
13. Bon appetit!