Christmas time is an opportunity to try all those mouthwatering recipes for traditional dishes and cookies from Austria, Germany and Switzerland.
Goose Breast with Potato Dumplings, Red Cabbage, and Chestnuts
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 chestnuts.
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
1 whole large goose breast
Salt, pepper
Rosemary
4 medium onions
1 carrot
1 celery root
1 head red cabbage
4 tablespoons lard or butter
1 clove garlic
1 cup (250 ml) red wine
3 apples
Cloves, pepper corns
1 bay leaf
Cheesecloth
Salt, sugar, pepper
2 teaspoons red currant jam
1 lb. potatoes
2 eggs
Nutmeg
Salt
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375° F.
Season goose breast with salt, pepper and rosemary. Place breast-side down in a roasting pan adding some water. Roast at 375° for about 10 minutes, then lower temperature to 300°. 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.
Source: Germanfoods.org
Enjoy and Guten Appetit!
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