Lublin Vorschmack

We try to take the best from our regional culinary tradition. This time we prepared our interpretation of a hearty goulash with slightly vinous and sour-hot flavour with cucumber pickles and tomato concentrate, usually served with bread. The main ingredient of Forszmak (or Vorschmack) is usually pork. Our version of Vorschmack is made of caramelised sweetbread, dry Portobello flakes from Dąbrówka and smoked, hot paprika. Below is a recipe for the basic version of this dish:

· 500g pork shoulder
· 100g juniper sausage cut in slices
· 100 g smoked bacon cut into sticks
· Lard for frying
· 100g onion cut into strips
· 5 cloves of garlic cut into strips
· 20g fresh ginger chopped
· 100g portobellos cut into quarters
· 100g cucumber pickles cut into thin slices
· 30g butter
· 50g tomato concentrate
· 1l chicken stock (or water)
· 1 bay leaf
· ½ teaspoon caraway
· ½ teaspoon ground coriander grains
· 1 spoon sweet, smoked powder paprika
· 3 grains allspice
· Salt, pepper

Cut meat in 1-cm slices and then into strips. Season with salt and pepper. Fry in a pan in a little bit of hot lard. Put bacon in a separate pot and cook on low heat so that it slowly releases fat. Add sausage, fried pork shoulder, onion, garlic, tomato concentrate and fry everything for 5 minutes. Take the pane you used for frying pork shoulder, fry in butter cucumbers, then portobello mushrooms and put them in the pot. Add all the spices and cover with chicken stock. Boil until meat is tender (about one hour). Add salt, pepper, sugar or cucumber pickles juice as you please. Serve with bread.