the ultimate coup

Anthony was fascinated by the recipe for the Polish Hunter’s Choucroute that appeared in the New York Times a few weeks ago. The recipe calls for, among other ingredients, 8 ounces of thick cut smoked bacon, 2 pounds of smoked ham, smoked pig knuckles, ham hocks, smoked goose or smoked duck, sausages, and kielbasa. I don’t even know what some of those meats are. I was baffled when I got the following email from him.

Email from Anthony to me:

Did you see that polish stew recipe from the last times dining and wine section? With fake items, that sounds pretty.. great.

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We then chatted online:

Anthony: why does that recipe look so good
3:45 PM me: hahaha let me look at it
Recipe: Polish Hunter’s Choucroute (Bigos)
?
this one??

3:46 PM Anthony: yes
that doesn’t sound good?
admittedly, it’s a bit off the beaten path…for me
3:48 PM me: hahahaha
i cant really imagine what it would taste like
without all the heavy meat flavors
Anthony: hm true
3:49 PM it’s more of a..theoretical interest for me

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And so we decided to give it a shot. After all, the recipe also calls for apples, onions, potatoes, sauerkraut, vodka, and half a bottle of red wine, all familiar flavors, and we like experimenting…

He did all the work. When I came home, a delicious aroma had permeated the apartment, the result of slow cooking the stew for two hours. My first forkful revealed juicy cuts of sausage and translucent onion steeped in the deep, winey broth. Fake sausage has a lovely, soft texture and in addition to being really tasty, it’s good for you. The copious sauerkraut mellowed and infused the potatoes, apples, and tiny black peppercorns with a pungent, musky punch. We hunched over our bowls and marveled at the feat we pulled in transforming an outright carnivorous feast into a grand stew fit for vegan kings.

Recipe after the jump.

Anthony’s Vegetarian Polish Hunter’s Choucroute
Adapted from Louis Begley

Time: 4 hours

2 large sweet onions, chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 pounds sauerkraut, preferably fresh

3 potatoes, peeled and cut into eighths

8 cloves garlic, peeled

18 black peppercorns

1 pound Boca Bratwurst Sausage

2 pounds Tofurkey Kielbassa

1 pound apple sage sausage (not sure of brand)

3 apples

2 cups vegetable stock

2 cups Rioja

1/4 cup vodka

1. Place onions in a bowl and mix with salt; set aside. Place a large skillet over medium heat; sauté until golden, about 10 minutes. Remove pan from heat; set aside.

2. Place sauerkraut in a heavy casserole without rinsing it unless you find the taste too strong. If you do, rinse in cold water and press water out in a colander. Add to sauerkraut the onions, potatoes, garlic, peppercorns and some of the sausage. Peel and core apples, cut into quarters, and add to casserole. Mix well. Add enough vegetable stock and wine to barely reach surface of sauerkraut. Cover and cook over low heat for 2 hours, stirring occasionally and scraping bottom of casserole.

3. Add remaining sausages and cook for one hour

4. Fifteen minutes before serving, pour vodka over mixture.

Yield: 6 generous servings.