Fennel Pear And Chestnut Stuffing Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large skillet, saute onion and fennel in 1/2 cup butter until tender. Stir in garlic; cook 2 minutes longer. Stir in chestnuts, pear, broth, dried fruit, seasonings and remaining butter; cook until butter is melted. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 3-4 minutes or until dried fruit is softened., Place in a large bowl. Stir in bread cubes. Whisk eggs and milk; drizzle over stuffing and toss to coat., Transfer to a greased 13x9-in. and a greased 8-in. square baking dish. Bake, uncovered, 25 minutes. Uncover; bake 10-15 minutes longer or until lightly browned.

Steps:

• Coat a wide, straight-sided pan with olive oil and add the bacon. Bring the pan to a medium heat and let the bacon get brown and crispy.
• Add the celery, onions and fennel and season with salt. Cook the veggies until they get soft and very aromatic, 8 to10 minutes. Add the rosemary and garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes more.
• Toss in the chestnuts, cranberries and pears, and stir to combine. Add the wine and let it reduce by half.
• Put the bread in a large mixing bowl and add the cooked veggie mixture to the bread. Stir to combine and douse the bread with half the stock. Use your hands to combine the bread, veggies and stock. Add more stock when/if needed to really saturate the bread. Season with salt and taste it to make sure it is delicious.
• Use the stuffing to stuff a turkey or pork crown roast, or place in a roasting pan and bake for 35 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Steps:

• Make Classic Stuffing with potato bread. Use diced fennel bulb instead of celery. Cook 1 cup each chopped apples and dried cranberries with the onions and fennel.
• Classic Stuffing: Melt 1 stick butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add 2 cups each diced onions and celery and 1 tablespoon each minced sage and thyme; add salt and pepper and cook 5 minutes. Add 3 cups turkey or chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Beat 2 eggs with 1/4 cup chopped parsley in a large bowl; add 16 cups cubed stale white bread, then pour in the vegetable-broth mixture and toss. Transfer to a buttered baking dish and dot with butter. Cover and bake 30 minutes at 375 degrees F; uncover and bake until golden, 30 more minutes. (Or stuff in your turkey and bake.)
• Photography by Charles Masters

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Add oil and butter to a hot casserole. Sweat carrots, onions, and celery and cook until soft, but without color. Remove from heat and add marjoram and thyme. In a bowl combine focaccia, vegetables, hot stock, cider, and chestnuts. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix well. Place in covered baking dish and bake for 30 minutes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
• Soak the stale bread in the milk in a large bowl for 20 minutes.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallots, onions, carrots and celery and cook 10 minutes until wilted.
• Drain the milk from the bread by pressing with your hands. Add the bread to a large bowl, then add the sauteed vegetables, egg, sage, parsley, grated orange rind and 1/2 cup of the grated cheese. Season with salt and pepper and mix until all the ingredients are incorporated and the stuffing is well blended. Add the chestnuts and mix well.
• Spoon into the prepared baking dish and shake into place with a rubber spatula. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle on the remaining 1/2 cup grated cheese and cook an additional 20 minutes or until crispy on top.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Saute the onion, carrot and celery over low heat in butter until soft, about 8 minutes.
• Combine the pears, chestnuts, sausage, herbs and bread in a large bowl.
• Add the sauteed vegetables and butter to the bowl.
• Lightly toss.
• Add enough stock (a little at a time) to lightly moisten the bread without allowing it to become soggy.
• Handle the dressing gently when mixing.
• Season to taste with the salt and pepper, being especially generous with the black pepper.
• Spoon the dressing into a buttered 9x13 baking pan and cover with foil.
• Bake for about 45 minutes.
• Remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until the temperature of the dressing reaches 160 degrees.
• Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread bread cubes on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until crisped but not golden, about 10 minutes. Let cool. In a 14-inch straight-sided skillet (or 2 large skillets), melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onions, leeks, celery, fennel, and pears; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables and pears are softened and start to turn golden, about 15 minutes. Stir in rosemary and sage.
• Meanwhile, cook sausage in a skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally and breaking into large crumbles, until browned and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Stir into vegetable mixture, then transfer to a large bowl. Add bread cubes and toss well. Drizzle stock over mixture, add eggs and parsley, and toss to combine well. Season with 2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Use 10 cups stuffing to fill bird; place remainder in a buttered 8-inch-square baking dish. After turkey is out of oven, bake at 350 degrees until heated through and top is browned, 40 to 45 minutes.

Steps:

• Cut the crusts off the bread and tear remaining loaves into 1-inch pieces; put into a large bowl. Toss with 2/3 cup olive oil. Spread on 2 rimmed baking sheets. Toast on staggered oven shelves in a preheated 400-degree oven 12 to 15 minutes, tossing occasionally, until croutons are golden-brown and crispy on the outside but still a little soft and tender inside. Reverse baking sheets halfway through cooking time. Cool.
• Toast the fennel seeds in a small pan over medium heat 2 to 3 minutes, shaking the pan often, until the seeds release their aroma and turn a light golden brown. Coarsely grind the seeds with a mortar and pestle or spice grinder. Set aside.
• Heat a large saute pan over high heat for 2 minutes. Add remaining 1/4 cup olive oil and the pancetta. Saute 1 to 2 minutes. Turn heat down to medium, add rosemary sprigs and red-pepper flakes and cook one minute. Add onion, fennel, fennel seeds and thyme. Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and a few grindings of pepper. Saute about 8 minutes or until the vegetables are lightly caramelized. If making ahead, cool and refrigerate vegetables. Otherwise, add to the croutons and set aside.
• Return pan to high heat and pour in white wine. Bring to a boil and reduce by three-quarters. Add chicken stock or broth and bring to a boil. Pour hot liquid over croutons and vegetables, tossing well to combine. Stir occasionally so that the liquid that settles in the bottom of the bowl can be redistributed.
• Wipe pan out with paper towels, and return to the stove over medium heat. Swirl in 4 tablespoons butter, and when it foams, add chestnuts. Saute 4 to 5 minutes, until the chestnuts are golden and sizzling. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper; add to the stuffing. Stir to combine, and adjust seasonings if needed. Add eggs and parsley, toss well and put the stuffing into a 2 1/2 -quart casserole. Don't pile it too high - any that remains can be put into a smaller casserole dish. Cover with foil and bake 40 minutes in a preheated 375-degree oven. Remove foil and top stuffing with remaining butter cut into small pieces. Cook uncovered about 15 minutes or until crispy on top.