Saveur Cooks Authentic American - Editors Of Cook's Illustrated Magazine [16]
Serves 8–10
1. Heat ¼ cup oil in an 8-qt. pot over medium-high heat. Add the parsley, celery, garlic, carrots, and onion and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are golden brown, 15–20 minutes.
2. Put the tomatoes into a medium bowl. Crush the tomatoes by hand and transfer to the pot along with the juices. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until thickened, 25–30 minutes. Add the kale, 2 cans of beans, and 16 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, uncovered, until the kale is tender, about 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, purée the remaining can of beans and ½ cup of water in a blender. Stir into the pot. Add the bread pieces and remaining oil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thick, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve soup drizzled with olive oil.
COOKING NOTE Ribollita can be made with any type of kale, but cavolo nero, a Tuscan variety that grows through the lean winter months, maintains its body and crinkly texture particularly well. In the United States, cavolo nero is also known as dinosaur kale, Tuscan kale, and lacinato kale.
Smoked Pork and Sauerkraut Stew
Bigos
The extravagant pork and sauerkraut stew called bigos may be our favorite from Poland’s wide repertoire of hearty pork dishes. Thick with smoked pork shoulder, pork butt, bacon, and kielbasa, this version is based on one made by Stella Bobak, whose family owns the Chicago supermarket Bobak’s, a venerable emporium of Polish products and pork in every imaginable cut and cure.
¼ oz. dried porcini mushrooms
¼ lb. smoked bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 oz. fatback, cut into ½ -inch cubes
½ lb. boneless pork butt, cut into 1-inch pieces
½ lb. smoked kielbasa, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/3 lb. smoked pork shoulder, cut into 1-inch pieces
6 whole allspice
2 bay leaves
2 large yellow onions, chopped
6 tbsp. tomato paste
1 tbsp. flour
4 lbs. sauerkraut, roughly chopped and rinsed
½ cup red wine
6 cups beef or veal stock Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste Chopped flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
Serves 8
1. Put the dried mushrooms and 1½ cups water into a bowl and let soften for 1 hour. Drain and reserve water.
2. Heat the oven to 350°F. Cook the bacon and fatback in a large pot over medium heat until crisp, 8–10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon and fatback to a plate. Add the pork butt, kielbasa, and pork shoulder to the pot and increase heat to medium-high; cook, turning meat occasionally, until the meat is browned, 12–14 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the meat to a plate and set aside.
3. Add the allspice, bay leaves, and onions to the pot and cook, scraping up browned bits, until softened, 8–10 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook until browned, 8–10 minutes. Add the flour and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and sauerkraut to the pot and cook for about 12 minutes. Add the mushroom water; the bacon and fatback; the pork butt, kielbasa, and pork shoulder; the wine; and the stock and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper. Cover the pot with foil and a tight-fitting lid and braise in the oven until the meat is very tender, about 1 hour. Divide the stew between bowls, garnish with parsley, and serve.
City of Pork
Hog heaven is the deli counter at Bobak’s, the Polish supermarket on Chicago’s Southwest side. There you can find the world’s best bacon, double-smoked and meaty, with ribbons of aromatic fat that melt on your tongue; dozens of varieties of kielbasa dangling from hooks, some thick and reddish with crinkled rinds, others in slender loops; not to mention all the smoked hams and loins and ribs and more. Not surprisingly, this store started life as a smokehouse; after Stan Bobak emigrated from the Highland region of Poland in the 1960s, he worked in the city’s stockyards and started smoking sausage on the side. Now the business is as beloved for its home-style cooking as it is for its cured meat; on my last trip to Bobak’s in-store restaurant, I ate an unforgettable