Stuffing! Or dressing…(American panzanella)
I think the best part about Thanksgiving dinner is usually not the piece de resistance turkey, but actually the side dishes and the family drama. (Depending on the family of course!) Stuffing is a bread based dish that is usually cooked inside the bird. Dressing is usually made on the side and cooked separately. Italians have panzanella in the summer and this is the much heavier winter American doppleganger. The nice part is that you can be flexible about what you put in the recipe - I have listed a bunch of options I have used for both stuffing or dressing.
Obviously there are great brands that do the pre-made version, like Pepperidge Farm or Stove Top. But if you want a made from scratch version, here’s mine. Another option is to use up your bread and mix in Stove top - semi-homemade is also delicious.
Ingredients:
4 Cups/400 grams of bread in cubes (a crusty loaf, like casareccio or sourdough, if its kinda stale even better!)
1 cup/100 grams chopped onion (one medium size onion)
1 cup/ 100 grams chopped celery (two nice stalks - you can use the leaves too, those are tasty!)
1 teaspoon dried sage
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (or rosemary or parsleyif you like)
2 tablespoons butter, plus 2 more Tablespoons to put on top before baking (or you can use olive oil)
1 1/2 Cups/330 ml of chicken broth (or one chicken or vegetable bouillon cube dissolved in 330 ml of water)
Optional add ins: 1-2 small sausages; one small chopped apple; half a bulb of chopped fennel; 1/4 cup of chopped walnuts or pecans; I personally wouldn’t add all of these at once but its your stuffing, you do you.
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Start the cooking in a large pot. You will need the space for mixing! If you are using sausage, start by removing the casings and cook on medium heat. You can break it up with a fork so it becomes little pieces. Next, remove from the pan and leave the remaining oil. Add two tablespoons of butter, the sage and thyme and once it starts to melt and the herbs are fragrant, add the chopped onion and celery. Stir and let the vegetables sweat in a covered pot for about 2-3 minutes. Once the onion goes clear add the bread cubes and cooked sausage and mix together. Now add the chicken broth 1/2 cup at a time. Depending on how stale the bread is, you will want the stuffing to be moist, but not soggy - especially if this is going to be cooked in a bird, it will be a mess! So add the broth a little at a time. If you are leaving this as dressing - which I usually do, place the mix in a baking tray and spread evenly. *If you are using this in a bird, then its ready to use at this point.
Before baking, dot the top with little bits of butter, or drizzle with olive oil so it has a crunch to the top. Bake at 350F/175C for about 30 minutes. Done.