Christmas Roast Goose with Apple Red Cabbage and Dumplings

Ingredients

• 1 goose (approx. 3.5 kg)
• Salt
• Pepper
• 3 tbsp dried mugwort
• 750 g Boskop apples
• 80 g walnut kernels (freshly cracked and coarsely chopped)
• 1 Tbsp freshly chopped thyme
• 500 ml rosé wine
• 250 ml apple juice
• 200 ml poultry stock
• starch (for binding)
• 6 small sweet-sour apples
• 1 kg red cabbage
• 2 tart apples
• 50 g clarified butter
• 1 small onion
• 2 cloves of mace
• 0.125 l red wine
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp vinegar
• Salt
• Pepper (freshly ground)
• 1.5 kg starchy potatoes
• 0.5 stale rolls
• clarified butter
• 100 ml milk
• Salt

Instructions

1. 1.

   Wash the raw goose, pat dry, rub inside and out with salt and pepper, then sprinkle with mugwort. Wash apples, halve, core, slice into wedges, mix with walnuts and thyme leaves, and stuff the goose with this mixture.

2. 2.

   Secure the opening with toothpicks and tie the goose crosswise with kitchen twine.

3. 3.

   Preheat oven to 220 °C and place the goose breast‑down on the oven tray (slide the appropriate pan underneath). Gradually pour in 250 ml of water, wine, and apple juice every 45 minutes while roasting; reduce heat to 170 °C. Roast for an additional 2 hours, turning once and basting with the cooking juices. About 45 minutes before finishing, wash, dry, and rub organic apples, then place them on the rack beside the goose. Fifteen minutes before the end, baste the goose with remaining wine and raise oven temperature back to 220 °C. Finish roasting until done. Reduce the drippings with poultry stock, skim off excess fat if needed. Strain the sauce through a sieve and thicken with starch mixed in cold water as desired. Carve the goose and serve with the sauce and side dishes.

4. 4.

   For the red cabbage: remove outer leaves, halve the cabbage, cut out the core, and shred finely on a mandoline. Quarter apples, peel, core, and chop into pieces. Heat clarified butter in a pot, sauté apple pieces, then add cabbage. Peel and finely chop onion, add with mace to the apple mixture. Pour in 250 ml water and red wine, add sugar and vinegar, season with salt and pepper, cover, and simmer for about 45 minutes.

5. 5.

   For the dumplings: peel 500 g of potatoes and steam until tender (≈30 min). Dice stale rolls into small cubes and crisp them lightly in a bit of clarified butter. Peel, wash, and grate remaining raw potatoes finely. Squeeze potato mash through a kitchen towel over a bowl to remove excess liquid; let the starch settle at the bottom. Break apart the dry mash slightly and pour boiling milk over it, then drain the settled starch and add it back to the mash. Peel freshly cooked potatoes and press them into the mixture immediately. Combine all well, season with salt. The dough should be soft but not mushy. With damp hands, shape dumplings and press in the center a few toasted bread cubes each. Bring salted water to boil in a wide pot, drop dumplings in, and simmer on low heat for about 30 minutes.