This festive entrée combines all the classic food and flavors of a traditional German holiday feast: succulent goose, nourishing dumplings, red cabbage infused with red wine and spices, with the wonderful seasonal touch of caramelized chestnuts.
Servings 4
Ingredients
- whole large goose breast
- salt and pepper
- rosemary
- 4 medium onions
- 1 carrot
- 1 celery root
- 1 head red cabbage
- 4 tbsp lard or butter
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 cup red wine 250 ml
- 3 apples
- cloves
- peppercorns
- 1 bay leaf
- cheesecloth
- salt and pepper
- sugar
- 2 tsp red currant jam
- 1 lbs potatoes
- 2 eggs
- nutmeg
- salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Season goose breast with salt, pepper and rosemary. Place breast-side down in a roasting pan adding some water. Roast at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes, then lower temperature to 300 degrees . Roast for about 1-1/2 hours, turning the meat breast-side up halfway through. Baste from time to time with the juices gathering on the bottom of the pan. Add more water if necessary. With about 30 minutes roasting time remaining, add one onion, carrot and celery root, all finely chopped.
- Remove goose breast and keep warm. Pass the juices through a strainer and add some cream to taste. Set gravy aside.
- Cut the head of cabbage in half, remove stem and cut into thin strips. Melt lard or butter, add chopped onions and garlic clove, then the cabbage, stirring gently. Add red wine and cheesecloth filled with cloves, peppercorns and bay leaf. Cut apples into wedges and add. Season with salt, pepper, a pinch of sugar and red currant jam. Cook on low heat for about 45 minutes.
- Boil and mash half of the potatoes. Grate the other raw potatoes and squeeze out liquid. Combine all the potatoes with the eggs and season with nutmeg and salt. Shape dough into large round dumplings and cook in boiling water .
- Score the chestnuts on both sides with a knife and bake them in a preheated oven until the cases crack open. Remove chestnuts from cases. Melt butter, add 1/4 cup (50g) sugar and caramelize. Add chestnuts and stir to coat. Add some of the goose gravy, stir and let chestnuts simmer until cooked through.
