Kapusta z Grzybami

The story

Sauerkraut braised with dried wild mushrooms is one of the oldest dishes on the Wigilia table, relying entirely on two foods that for centuries could be kept through the whole winter without refrigeration: cabbage by fermenting it in a barrel, mushrooms by drying them on a string hung beside the stove. The mushrooms have to be soaked before cooking to soften — overnight in many homes, an hour or two in warm water at the least — and the soaking water is often added back to the dish, since it carries the most flavor. It is served on its own as one of the twelve meatless dishes, but it is also the base for gołąbki or pierogi filling, so sauerkraut with mushrooms is really a basic “building block” of the entire Wigilia supper and not just one dish among many. According to many Polish Americans, the smell of dried mushrooms simmering for hours on the stove is one of the hardest to reproduce outside Poland, which is why many families carry dried mushrooms back with them or ask relatives who are traveling to bring some.