roasted duck with bread dumplings and red cabbage

are you kidding me, mister butcher?! i am not buying a goose for 20 euros! a goose which can feed at least 7 people. i am single, i live alone. and i don't want to eat roasted goose for the rest of the year.

so what am i going to do now? according to the butcher i have no alternative. he would not just cut off a piece of the damn bird for tiny little single gal. what the hell. i still want to have a nice piece of extravagant poultry today!

so i went to the supermarket and bought a haunch of a duck instead. not a good start to my adventures in traditinally inspired dishes.

main dish: roasted duck
haunch of a duck
half an apple - peeled, cored and chopped
some small potatos
water
salt
pepper

01 wash, dry and salt the meat
02 place in a pan
03 add peeled, cored and chopped apple and the small potatos
04 add two cups of water to the roasting pan
05 let roast gently at 200°C and baste every now and then

side dish: red cabbage
3/4 cup water
1 small head red cabbage, finely shredded
1 apple - peeled, cored and chopped
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup white vinegar
spices, herbs, salt

01 place all ingredients in a large saucepan
02 bring to boil
03 reduce heat and cover
04 simmer 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cabbage is tender

side dish: bread dumplings
2 white dinner rolls
1/2 cup lukewarm milk
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
1 egg lightly beaten
salt and pepper to taste
1 pinch ground nutmeg

01 dice rolls and soak in milk, until moist but not soggy
02 melt butter in a small skillet and saute onion and parsley
03 add eggs, onion saute, salt, pepper and nutmeg to bread/milk mixture
04 mix well and shape into dumplings.
06 cook in salted water for 20 minutes and serve immediately.

angelika posted a very detailled description of this rather special day in austria too ... go check it out!

i have to lay down and open my pants now because i am really stuffed.
the martiniduck was delicious!