Bigos

Cover the dried porcini mushrooms with a cup of hot water and leave for 30 minutes to soften; strain the soaking liquid through gauze and finely chop the mushrooms.

Squeeze the sauerkraut to remove the brine (if it's too sour, rinse it with cold water) and cut into shorter strips. Thinly shred the fresh cabbage.

Cut the pork neck into 2–3 cm cubes and the smoked sausage into 1 cm thick rounds. Finely chop the onion and garlic.

Heat sunflower oil in a large pot and brown the pork in batches until golden, 5–7 minutes; transfer to a bowl. In the same fat, fry the sausage for 3–4 minutes and set aside as well. Sauté the onion and garlic until translucent, 3 minutes.

Return the meat and sausage to the pot, add the sauerkraut and fresh cabbage, the chopped mushrooms and the strained mushroom liquid. Pour in enough hot water to just cover the cabbage.

Add the bay leaf, allspice berries, caraway seeds and half of the marjoram. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 1.5 hours, stirring occasionally.

Add the prunes, cut into quarters, and the tomato paste, stir and simmer uncovered for another 30–40 minutes, until the cabbage is tender and the sauce has thickened.

Season with salt, ground black pepper and the remaining marjoram to taste. Let the bigos rest for at least 15 minutes before serving — traditionally it tastes even better the next day after reheating.