Goose Breast with Sauce

Ingredients

• 4 shallots
• 2 Garlic cloves
• 150 g celery root
• 5 tbsp olive oil
• 4 peppercorns
• 3 Juniper berries
• 4 cloves of mace
• 200 ml plum juice
• 2 tbsp Soy sauce
• 2 large goose breasts (skinless; 300 g each)
• Salt
• Pepper
• 0.5 bunch Parsley (10 g)
• 375 ml milk (3.5% fat)
• 150 g polenta
• 40 g parmesan (32% fat in the rind)
• 0.5 bunch thyme (10 g)
• 1 egg
• 3 tbsp diced pork ham (15 g each)
• 500 g sauerkraut (drained weight; jar)
• 2 tbsp apple sauce (15 g each)
• 400 ml Poultry broth
• 1 tsp Cornstarch

Instructions

1. 1.

   Peel the shallots and garlic. Clean and peel the celery root. Roughly chop everything. Sauté the vegetables in a pan with 2 tbsp olive oil for 5–6 minutes over medium heat.

2. 2.

   Crush the spices in a mortar, add them to the pan and sauté briefly. Deglaze with plum juice, soy sauce, and 100 ml water, then bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

3. 3.

   Meanwhile, rinse the goose breasts, pat dry, season with salt and pepper, and place them in a roasting dish. Pour the vegetable broth over the meat, cover, and bake in a preheated oven at 180 °C (160 °C fan) for about 30 minutes, adding water if needed.

4. 4.

   In the meantime, wash, dry, and finely chop parsley for the dumplings. Boil 275 ml milk and 250 ml water, season with salt. Stir in the polenta and simmer for 2–3 minutes over medium heat. Set aside covered to rest for about 15 minutes.

5. 5.

   Grate the parmesan. Wash, dry, and strip thyme leaves. Mix parmesan, egg, and ¾ of the thyme into the polenta, stir well, and let the mixture cool for about 10 minutes. Shape it into 18 dumplings, each 4 cm in diameter, and cook them in boiling salted water over low heat for 2–3 minutes until tender.

6. 6.

   For the sauerkraut, sauté pork ham in a pot with 1 tbsp olive oil over high heat for 2 minutes. Add the sauerkraut and remaining milk, warm through. Season with apple sauce, salt, and pepper, then keep warm.

7. 7.

   Remove the meat from the roasting dish and keep it warm. Transfer the broth to a saucepan, add poultry broth, and simmer for 6–7 minutes over medium heat. Taste the sauce and thicken slightly by adding cornstarch dissolved in cold water.

8. 8.

   Lift the dumplings from the water, drain, and brown them in the remaining oil for 2–3 minutes over medium heat. Slice the goose breast into strips and arrange on plates with the dumplings and sauerkraut, pour the sauce over the meat, and garnish with the remaining thyme.