Roast Pork with Red Cabbage and Bread Dumplings

Roast Pork

A 1.5 to 2.5 kilogramme piece of pork from the shoulder. Score the fat with a sharp meat knife or a carpet cutter. Make a cut every two centimeters or so. Then rub the meat on all sides with caraway, garlic, salt and white pepper. Brush oil onto the fat. Line an ungreased, thick-bottomed casserole with a layer of sliced onions. Add coarsely chopped carrots, celeriac and pork bones - along with a cut clove of garlic.

Preheat the oven to 180°C and place the casserole on a low rack and cook for 120-130 minutes, occasionally pouring some dark beer (around half a litre total) to the roast. At the end of the cooking time add 0.75 litres of broth or water.

Remove the meat and heat the sauce until it boils. The sauce should take on a rich, dark colour regulated by adding the beer or water.

When the sauce starts to boil, add 90-100 grams grated potato to bind it, and season with salt, caraway, pepper and sugar. (The sugar neutralizes the bitterness that develops during cooking.)

After simmering for 10 minutes, pour the sauce through a sieve. The carrot and celeriac pieces can be put back in the gravy.

The Oven:
Start the roast at 220°C for 20-25 minutes, then reduce to 180° for the rest of the cooking time. If the meat has a bone, the roasting time will be longer.

Red Cabbage:

Ingredients:
1 kilogram red cabbage, finely sliced
350 grams diced apple
150 grams sliced onions
100 grams duck fat or butter
juice of one lemon
20 grams salt
100 grams sugar
300 ml red wine
5 juniper berries
5 cloves
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon cinnamon
10 grams potato starch

Preparation:
Sauté the onions in the fat with the juniper, bay leaves and cloves in a large open pot, add cabbage and apples and cook lightly. Sprinkle lemon juice over the cabbage and add wine. Add the rest of the spices. Then steam for 30 minutes with the lid on. Bind with the potato starch and season to taste.

Bread Dumplings:

Ingredients:
10 bread rolls or white bread (around 500 grams)
5 eggs
300 ml milk
100 grams butter
100 grams chopped onion
4 tablespoons flat-leaved parsley.
Pepper and salt

Preparation:
Sauté the onion with the butter, add milk and heat, but do not allow to boil.

Pour the liquid over the bread and allow it to soak, covered, for 10 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and seasoning, knead lightly, retaining the structure of the rolls. Leave the bread mass for another 10 minutes and knead again to bind with the egg. Test the consistency by putting a small sample in boiling, salted water. If it does not fall apart, shape the rest in 100 g portions with wet hands and put in the boiling water and cook for 15 minutes.