Christmas stuffing recipe

Packed full of flavour, this side dish feels like the main event.

Any true lover of Christmas knows the best part of the meal is the trimmings.

“If I could have a big bowl of bread sauce, pigs in blankets, stuffing – I could just base a whole meal on that if I had to,” confesses Lucy Brazier from River Cottage. This is her recipe for the ultimate stuffing…

SERVES 6-8 Ingredients

• 500g fresh or vac-packed chestnuts

• 2 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil

• 1 onion, finely chopped

• 1 head of celery, tough outer stems removed, finely chopped

• 12 plump prunes, stoned and roughly chopped

• 6–8 sage leaves, chopped

• A couple of sprigs of thyme, leaves picked

• A small bunch of parsley, leaves picked and chopped

• 100g fresh (or stale) breadcrumbs

• 50g hazelnuts, roughly bashed, and/ or pumpkin seeds (optional)

• Sea salt and black pepper

METHOD

1. If you are preparing whole chestnuts from scratch, make a small slit in the skin of each one, then blanch in boiling water for about two minutes to ease peeling. Drain and, once cool enough to handle, peel off both the tough outer skin and the thin, brown inner skin. Now simmer in unsalted water for 15–20 minutes until completely tender. Drain and leave to cool. Put the chestnuts (home-cooked or vac-packed) into a bowl and break up roughly with a fork – they should be crumbled rather than puréed.

2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and celery and sweat for 10–15 minutes, until softened and golden. Add the prunes, chestnuts, herbs and some salt and pepper. Mix well and cook for another eight to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from the heat.

3. When the mixture has cooled a little, mix in all but a handful of the breadcrumbs until well combined. You can add a dash of warm water or veg stock if that’s needed to bring it together.

4. Preheat the oven to 190C/fan 170C/ 375F/gas Mark 5. Oil an ovenproof dish and pile in the stuffing, packing it down fairly firmly. Rough up the surface a bit with a fork, then scatter over the reserved breadcrumbs and hazelnuts and/or pumpkin seeds if included. Trickle over a little more oil, and bake for about 30 minutes until nicely browned and crisp on top. Serve hot.

• See page 15 for Lucy’s chestnut and chocolate cake recipe.

FESTIVE: Lucy Brazier, author of Christmas At River Cottage with Hugh Fearnley-whittingstall. Christmas Stuffing, below.