Duck with Chestnuts and Dumplings

Ingredients

• 1 duck (2.5 kg, ready to cook)
• Salt
• Pepper (freshly ground)
• 2 onions
• 1 apple
• 1 tsp marjoram (dried)
• 2 tbsp parsley (chopped)
• 100 g white bread
• 125 ml lukewarm milk
• 300 g flour
• 0.5 cube fresh yeast
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 20 g butter
• 250 ml poultry stock (from a jar)
• 12 chestnuts (jar, foil bag)
• 1 kumquat

Instructions

1. 1.

   Wash the duck and pat dry. Trim off wing tips and roughly chop them. Rub the duck inside and out with salt and pepper.

2. 2.

   Peel and core the apple; peel the onions. Roughly dice all and mix with herbs. Stuff the mixture into the duck, securing with wooden skewers. Place the duck breast-side down in a roasting pan, pour about 500 ml water over it, and roast in the oven for about 2 hours until golden brown, turning after 1 hour; baste the duck several times with the stock.

3. 3.

   For the dumplings, cube the white bread and toast in a skillet without fat until golden brown.

4. 4.

   Whisk yeast into milk. Combine flour, egg, yolk, and milk in a bowl, add the yeast mixture, and mix into a smooth dough. Fold in toasted bread cubes. Let rise covered at a warm spot for 45 minutes.

5. 5.

   Bring plenty of salted water to a boil in a pot. Shape dumplings (about 5 cm diameter) from the dough, wrap each in foil, and drop into boiling water. Reduce heat and simmer gently for 35–40 minutes.

6. 6.

   Remove duck from pan and halve lengthwise; remove stuffing. Cut halves crosswise again and keep warm at 70°C in the oven. Degrease the stock thoroughly. In a pot, brown duck wings in ½ tbsp butter, deglaze with stock, add stuffing and poultry stock, simmer for 15–20 minutes. Strain sauce through a sieve into another pot, season with salt and pepper, and keep warm.

7. 7.

   Sauté chestnuts briefly in remaining butter in a skillet, then set aside to keep warm. Wash kumquat and slice it thinly.

8. 8.

   Just before serving, turn on the oven grill. Grill duck pieces skin‑side up until crisp. Slice dumplings into thick rounds.

9. 9.

   Optionally split the breast and slice. Plate duck with sauce, chestnuts, and kumquat slices on warmed plates and serve.