Special Diet Information

Coumadin® (Warfarin)
This recipe is NOT safe for Coumadin (warfarin) users.

Lactose
This recipe is safe for those who are lactose intolerant.

Sodium
This is a low sodium recipe.

GERD / Acid Reflux
This recipe contains GERD triggers and those with GERD may wish to avoid it.

Gluten Sensitivity
This recipe is safe for those who are sensitive to gluten. Make sure the sausage, sauerkraut, and horseradish are gluten-free and use gluten-free beer in this dish.

"I am more modest now, but I still think that one of the pleasantest of all emotions is to know that I, I with my brain and my hands, have nourished my beloved few, that I have concocted a stew or a story, a rarity or a plain dish, to sustain them truly against the hungers of the world." -M.F.K. Fisher

The refrigerator light goes on...

I first had this stew at one of my favorite restaurants in London. It's an odd little hole in the wall that I first ate in over 20 years ago. You would think by the name, L'Autre, that it would be French (l'autre is French for "the other"). But it's not: L'Autre is a Polish-Mexican restaurant.  

The owner told me 20 years ago that he was Polish and opened the restaurant with his wife who was from Mexico. They began the place serving a menu with Polish dishes, but the Mexican embassy is around the corner, and when the workers there found out his wife was from Mexico, they began asking her to cook her native dishes for them. So the menu has this Polish Hunters Stew (bigos) made with goat alongside chicken enchiladas and nachos. Quirky, but it works, and the place is packed all the time. It is just good, honest peasant food with not a lot of frills, served simply by a cheerful staff.

When I was there recently I had a version of this stew and it was fantastic, so here it is for you. You can make this with goat if you want, but the pork shoulder, trimmed of excess fat, is probably more easily available to you. Don't worry that there is not a lot of liquid - it's supposed to be very thick. You can make this stew meat free by using a second onion and a second pound of mushrooms.

The other thing about L'Autre that I learned when I was there eating bigos recently is that the story about the owner's wife is a fib. The Mexican dishes were added to the menu when he hired a chef from the embassy. I do love the original story, but it has been made even better by finding out it is just that: a story.