River Cottage Christmas stuffing
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…
Ingredients:
(Serves 6-8)
500g fresh or vac-packed chestnuts 2tbsp 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 190°C/Fan 170°C/Gas 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 including. Trickle over a little more oil, and bake for about 30 minutes until nicely browned and crisp on top.