Make classic Czech duck with red cabbage and potato flatbread this weekend

As part of its social media blitz during the EU Council presidency, Czechia is sharing recipes for its most beloved dishes under the #TasteCzechRepublic hashtag. The recipes are created by Czech chef Kristína Nemčková, winner of the MasterChef Czech Republic 2019 competition and author of the cookbook "Upgrade."

Nemčková, who attended Le Cordon Bleu in London and is currently Chef de Partie at the Michelin-starred Story restaurant in London, chose for her latest recipe a dish that makes for the perfect meal as autumn sets in. Duck and red cabbage are accompanied by a dense "lokše," a potato pancake flatbread that's a favorite in South Moravia and Slovakia (Nemčková's grandmother is Slovak).

The dish blends an array of Czech flavors and fragrances -- carraway, allspice, bay leaf -- with the bite of cabbage and crispy duck. Nemčková also offers an amped-up version of the traditional meal in a second recipe that works with her "upgrade" theme.

The recipe for the Duck Breast with Red Cabbage Puree and Croquettes upgrade is embedded here beneath the "easy" version.

Rub the salt into the duck, inside and out. Cover and refrigerate overnight. To prep the potato flatbread, boil the potatoes, skins on, until soft, and peel while they are still warm. You can also refrigerate the potatoes to cool.

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Place the duck in a shallow roasting pan. Pour 200 ml of water into the tray, cover with tin foil and bake for 90 minutes then remove the foil, add more water if needed, and bake for another 20 minutes.

Poke holes in the fattiest spots of the duck to release the juices and then put it back in the oven for another 30 minutes. Remove the duck from the oven, switch the oven to grill mode and raise the temperature to 220°C. Turn the duck over, baste with the milk, and grill until the skin is golden and crunchy.

In the meantime, grate the cabbage into a bowl, add salt and let it rest for an hour. Next, caramelize the sugar in a pan, then remove the pan from the heat and add lard and finely chopped onion. Return to the stove and fry for 1 minute. Add cabbage, caraway, allspice, bay leaf, and black pepper, cover, and let simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. When the cabbage is soft, pour over red wine and season with vinegar, salt, pepper, and sugar.

As soon as the cabbage is ready, start on the flatbread. Mash the boiled and peeled potatoes into a large bowl and add flour and salt to make a smooth dough. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough flat and cut it into roughly 22 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and flatten it into a 1-mm thick pancake.

Dry-fry the pancake in a well-heated pan with a thick bottom for 1 minute on each side. While still warm, brush the finished flatbread with the duck fat released during cooking.