Two Recipes From My Mum

In my post about the first week of November, I mentioned the traditional roast goose meal we've had at my Mum's, and two of you were asking for a recipe for the stuffing and how my Mum prepares the cabbage.

She kindly sent me her recipes and instructions per email, and here they are.

To eat roast goose with stuffing, dumplings, cabbage and plenty of gravy is a traditional meal in November in this country. It is associated with St. Martin, the man who allegedly took his sword to split his coat in two and gave one half to a poor beggar by the roadside. My family are not Catholic, but eating "Martinsgans" (Martin's goose) is part of this time of year for us. I mentioned it in 2017 when I wrote about food; click here for that illustrated post.

Wikipedia has an article about St. Martin's Day, and under the headline "Customs" you'll find something about the goose-eating tradition.

Stuffing:

2 onions, finely chopped; the same amount of apples; 

500 g peeled and boiled chestnuts; 

1 large bunch of chopped parsley; 

2 tablespoons breadcrumbs; 

1 tablespoon butter. 

Season with marjoram, thyme, salt, and pepper.

Sorry, my Mum didn't say how exactly she makes this; is it just mixed in a bowl and then cooked? Does it go in the oven with the goose? Is it actually meant to be stuffed inside the goose (if you make a whole bird and not just legs and breast like we mostly have)?

She further wrote:

Kale: 

I use frozen, unseasoned kale (1 kg). Melt some butter or cleared butter in a pot, sauté a chopped onion until translucent, add a large, chopped apple, deglaze with about 1/4 liter of water, and add the kale. Stir in 1–2 tablespoons of rolled oats.

Cook for about 30–40 minutes, checking the texture occasionally; it should be soft but not mushy. 

Season with salt, pepper, and a little nutmeg.

 

Red Cabbage: 

Use 1 head of red cabbage or 1 kg of frozen red cabbage. If using fresh cabbage, shred it into fine strips. Begin the process just as you would for the kale, but deglaze with red wine instead of water. Add cloves and 1–2 bay leaves as seasoning.

For the traditional Martin's Goose meal, serve with dumplings (potato and/or bread dumplings), plenty of gravy, and of course the oven-roast goose - either the entire bird or parts like legs and breast, as we did. Brussel sprouts suit this meal, too, in case you don't have (or don't want) cabbage or kale.
Red wine goes very well with this dish, for instance Merlot or Syrah. But a glass of nice chilled beer or just plain water is just as good to complement the food.
For dessert, we usually have ice cream.

Enjoy!