Bigos (Polish hunter's stew)

1. step 1
2. Put the cabbage in a heavy casserole dish, add the stock and cook over a low heat for about 50 mins, until tender.
   50 minutes
3. step 2
4. Cut the soaked mushrooms into strips and save the soaking water. Heat the lard and fry the sausages and bacon, then scoop out, leaving the fat in the pan. Fry the onion in the same pan for 5-8 mins until lightly browned.
   5–8 minutes
5. step 3
6. Add the mushrooms and their liquid along with all the cooked meat, onions and prunes, then cover and cook for 20 mins. Add the spices, red wine and tomato purée and bring to a simmer, then cover and cook for 1 hr. Season well and leave to cool. Will keep covered and chilled for up to two days. Bigos improves in flavour over a couple of days. Leave to cool first. Reheat until piping hot before serving.
   20 minutes1 hour

Cooking notes

When scaling protein-led dishes, weigh the meat rather than counting pieces, and remember that the pan size limits how much you can sear at once.

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When you scale this recipe up or down, remember that cooking time does not scale linearly. A doubled cake takes longer, but not twice as long; a doubled soup takes roughly twice as long. The cooking-time guide gives sensible starting estimates by dish geometry.