POLISH STEW RECIPES

Steps:

• Place dried mushrooms in a bowl, submerge them in water and let sit for an hour;
• Rinse the sauerkraut and chop it. Place it in large pot and submerge with water, cook it for about an hour, adding water if needed so that the sauerkraut is fully covered. After fully cooked, let the water reduce by half;
• In a frying pan, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, a chopped onion and fry it for about 5 minutes until golden brown; 
• Remove the onions and set aside. Add another tablespoon of oil to the same pan, baby bella mushrooms, and season with salt & pepper and cook for about 5 minutes, until soft and cooked through;
• Remove the mushrooms and set aside. Add another tablespoon of oil to the same pan and your kielbasa. Cook until golden brown, or for about 5 minutes;
• When sauerkraut is soft and the water has reduced by half, add chopped cabbage, and carrot; mix together and let cook for about 5 minutes;
• Carefully remove dried mushrooms from the bowl and chop them. Be careful not to grab the dirt which inevitably fell down to the bottom of the bowl;
• Into the pot with your sauerkraut, add cooked onions, mushrooms, kielbasa, red wine, tomato paste and all seasonings;
• Let it cook for another half hour to an hour, mixing often until all the ingredients are well blended;
• Season with salt and pepper, if needed;
• It can be served immediately with bread or potatoes.  Additionally, it can be reheated the next day and I suspect you'll be presently surprised at how well the nicely the dish aged!

Steps:

• Peel and dice the onions finely. Slice kiełbasa into rounds. Set aside.
• Dice four bell peppers, or slice them into strips (I usually dice two of them and slice the other two into strips). Set aside.
• Drop two tablespoons of lard into a deep skillet/frying pan (or a wide cooking pot), and melt it on a medium heat.
• Add diced onions and sliced kiełbasa sausage and fry for 5-7 minutes, stirring from time to time.
• Add in two garlic cloves, minced or crushed, and continue frying for another 3 minutes.
• Add bell peppers and continue frying for yet another 3 minutes. 
• Season with salt and a generous pinch of ground black pepper. Add smoked paprika and chili powder. Stir together.
• [using fresh tomatoes] Peel (optional) and dice tomatoes roughly, removing the seeds as you go. Add it into the pan. Alternatively, pour in the tomato passata. 
• Cover partially with a lid and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. If the dish turns too thick, you can add some water or stock.
• At the very end of cooking, add two tablespoons of tomato concentrate and stir it in.
• Serve hot with cooked rice or a slice of bread.