Duck With Red Cabbage & Dumplings – A Classic Roast

There's nothing like a classic roast to cheer you up when the weather outside is miserable. Duck's maybe not something everyone would choose on a regular basis, but we reckon this recipe that comes with healthy portions of red cabbage and potato dumplings on the side will do a lot to persuade you!

You'll Need:

For the duck:

  • 1 duck (in one piece, insides removed)
  • 2 tbsp salt
  • 1 tbsp  paprika
  • ½ tbsp ground caraway
  • ½ tbsp pepper
  • fresh thyme
  • fresh parsley
  • 20 fl oz vegetable stock 

For the red cabbage (4 portions):

  • 2 lbs red cabbage
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 10 fl oz red wine
  • 4 fl oz vegetable stock
  • 1 tbsp grated orange zest
  • 1 grated apple
  • 3 bay leaves
  • ½ tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp mild balsamic vinegar
  • ¾ oz cold butter

For the potato dumplings (about 6 pieces):

  • 1½ lbs starchy potatoes
  • 10½ oz starchy potatoes, boiled
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 pinch salt
  • croutons
  • 1 tsp chopped parsley (for garnish)

Here's How:

  1. First, take care of the duck. Place it in a roasting pan, and rub it thoroughly with a mix of salt, paprika, caraway and pepper and stuff it with the thyme and parsley. Now pour the vegetable stock in as well and slide the pan into the oven. The cooking time should be around 90 minutes at 320°F in a convection oven.
  2. Second, you'll need to prepare the red cabbage: wash it, remove the outer leaves and cut the stem off. Cut the cabbage in half, lay one half to the side, and cut the other in half again. Then cut the two quarters into fine strips.
  3. Now caramelize the sugar in a pan and pour in the red wine. Add vegetable stock and the red cabbage and let the whole thing simmer in a pan with the lid on over a mild heat for 1½ hours. Stir it occasionally while it cooks. Then zest the orange peel, grate the apple in and stir in the seasoning — bay leaves, pepper and cinnamon. Lastly, mix in the balsamic vinegar and the butter.
  4. Next, it's time to make the dumplings: for this, first you have to finely grate the uncooked potatoes with a vegetable grater. Line a bowl with a dishcloth as a container to catch the potato. Take up the edges of the dishcloth to make a litte sack and squeeze out the starch-rich juice from the potatoes. Catch the juice in another container, and after about 10 minutes, the starch will collect at the bottom. Carefully pour the rest of the juice out — you will need the starch in a moment. But first, press the cooked potatoes through a potato press and then mix them with the grated, juiced potato. 
  5. Now, add the potato starch, the egg yolks and the salt. After you have kneaded everything evenly together, the dumpling dough is ready. Wet your hands and form the dough into small balls. Make a deep depression in each ball and fill it with two or three croutons. Then close the hole. Then let the dumplings simmer for around 20 minutes in salt water.
  6. When you arrange the dumplings together with portions of duck and the red cabbage, season with a little fresh parsley on top.

Even though you have to plan in a bit of time for this, now you know that's it's possible to produce a heavenly banquet — even if you wouldn't consider yourself a professional chef. Get to work and create one of the most tempting roasts out there to chase away the cold.

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