Goose Roast and Apple Tartlets

Ingredients

• 300 g toasted bread
• 50 g butter
• 100 g walnuts
• 40 g dried cranberries
• 3 eggs
• 250 ml milk
• Salt
• pepper (from grinder)
• 2 untreated oranges
• 5 tbsp Honey
• 1 tsp holiday spice mix
• 1 pre-cooked goose (~3 kg)
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1 tsp sauce thickener
• 12 shallots
• 4 apples
• 30 g Butter
• 2 tbsp honey
• Salt
• pepper (from grinder)
• 1 sheet puff pastry (~270 g, from the fridge rack)
• butter (for the molds)
• flat parsley (for garnish)

Instructions

1. 1.

   For the filling cut the toasted bread into large cubes. Heat the butter in a non-stick pan. Toast the bread cubes for 2–3 minutes and then transfer them to a bowl. Roughly chop the walnuts and briefly toast them in a dry pan. Roughly chop the cranberries as well. Whisk the eggs with the milk and season with salt and pepper. Pour this mixture over the toasted bread and mix briefly. Add the cranberries and walnuts.

2. 2.

   Wash one orange with hot water. Pat it dry with kitchen paper. Grate its zest with a microplane and mix with honey and the spice blend. Squeeze the juice from both oranges and set aside.

3. 3.

   Preheat the oven to 160 °C fan.

4. 4.

   Wash the goose and pat it dry inside and out with kitchen paper. Place the goose on a rack in a roasting pan. Season the inside and outside with salt and pepper. Stuff the goose with the toasted bread mixture and secure the opening with toothpicks. Tie the goose with kitchen twine to keep its shape. Roast in the oven for about 2½ hours. Increase the temperature to 200 °C and roast an additional hour. In the last 15 minutes brush the goose with the honey‑orange mixture. Optionally cover with foil at the end.

5. 5.

   Meanwhile, peel the shallots and apples for the tartlets. Remove the cores from the apples and cut the flesh into strips. Halve each shallot lengthwise. Heat butter in a pan. Sauté the shallot and apple strips for 5–7 minutes on all sides. Add honey and let them lightly caramelize over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper.

6. 6.

   Cut the puff pastry into six circles of about 10 cm diameter. Butter six tartlet molds, line them with pastry circles, and prickle the pastry bottoms several times with a fork. Evenly distribute the shallot and apple strips on top.

7. 7.

   Remove the goose, cover it with foil, and let rest for 15 minutes. While resting, bake the tartlets on a baking sheet in the 200 °C oven for about 15 minutes. Strain the drippings from the goose through a sieve and skim off excess fat. Refill the goose stock with the squeezed orange juice. Bring to a boil and thicken with sauce thickener. Season the sauce with salt and pepper. Arrange the goose, stuffing, and tartlets on a platter. Garnish with parsley and serve the sauce.