Cabbage with porcini and beans (bigos w/o meat)

To slowly get back in the rhythm of things after the Holidays ...and to fill my home with sweet childhood memories, I made bigos (a Polish national dish).

Recipe be Gray Apron
time: 3 days (not much preparation, mostly inactive)

 ingredients 
2 1/2 kg (5 lbs) white cabbage (1 medium head), loose leaves removed
1 1/2 kg (3 lbs) sauerkraut
1 medium celery root, coarsely graded
2 medium parsnips, coarsely graded
2 large carrots, coarsely graded
4 bay leaves
6 all spice berries
100 g (3.5 oz) dried porcini mushrooms, chopped
6 prunes, chopped
2 cups dried large beans, cooked
4 medium onions, sliced
4 Tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup dry red wine
fresh ground pepper to taste

 instructions 
FIRST DAY: Split cabbage head in four, remove core. Using a big knife, shred it thin. Cook it in a large pot with 1/2 cup of water, covered with a lid, on low/medium heat, for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, wash sauerkraut under running water (for 10 seconds), squeeze the excess liquid out. Chop it if too coarse. Add it to the cooked cabbage. Add celery, parsnips, carrots, bay leaves and all spice berries. Cook on medium/low heat, with a lid ajar, for 1/2 hour, till all tender, stirring occasionally. Set it in a cool place overnight.

SECOND DAY: Add dried porcini, prunes and beans to the cabbage pot. Cook on medium/low for 30 minutes, stirring more often. Set the pot in a cool place overnight.

THIRD DAY: On a medium skillet, heat oil on medium/high. Saute onions for 12 minutes (without changing their color). Bring cabbage to cooking temperature on medium heat. Add sautéed onions, pour in wine. Cook, stirring often, for 30 minutes on medium/low heat. Adjust seasoning and serve. Reheat the whole pot once a day over the next couple of days.

NOTES NOTES NOTES NOTES NOTES NOTES NOTES NOTES NOTES 

• there is no national recipe for bigos, all I got were tips and tricks from various sources; here are a few:
• cook cabbage first, it might never get tender with the acid from sauerkraut;
• wash sauerkraut to remove some acidity;
• wait with adding salt, sauerkraut might have enough of it already; pepper only at the end, otherwise, it might turn bitter;
• don't presoak the mushrooms; it's better if they absorb liquids from the dish;
• use only dry herbs;
• after biogs is ready, reheat the whole pot once a day over the next couple of days (maximum 2 in my case), even if you just need a plate full;
• the point of this operation is for all the the flavors to blend and intensify...and to prevent bigos from going bad;
• traditionally, the dish is loaded with meat leftovers (cooked, added the third day), but since but I had none, I added beans to make it a full meal;
• to be enjoyed by itself, with a slice of bread or a portion of mashed potatoes.