Bacon Prune And Chestnut Stuffing Recipes

Steps:

• Spread the ciabatta cubes out on baking sheets and leave at room temperature to dry out for 24 hours before making the stuffing.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and set aside.
• Heat the broth in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.
• Add the bacon to a large skillet and place over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until almost browned and crispy, about 5 minutes. Stir in the carrots, celery and red onion and season with the salt. Continue to cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are beginning to soften and the bacon is crispy, an additional 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the chestnuts, rosemary and radicchio.
• Place the bread cubes in a large bowl. Add the vegetable mixture to the bowl along with the olive oil and 1 cup of the Parmesan cheese. Toss well to combine. Add the broth and toss again until the bread mixture is entirely and evenly moistened.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared dish and top with the remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan. Dot with the butter and cover with foil. Bake, covered, for 30 minutes. Uncover and cook until browned and crispy on top and warm all the way through, an additional 20 minutes.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325° F. and butter a 4-quart baking dish.
• In a shallow baking pan arrange bread pieces in one layer and bake in middle of oven, stirring occasionally, until pale golden, about 20 minutes. Transfer bread to a large bowl.
• In a large skillet cook bacon over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp and transfer with a slotted spoon to bread. To fat in skillet add butter, onions, celery, and rosemary and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened. Add chestnuts and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add mixture to bread, tossing well, and stir in parsley and salt and pepper to taste. Transfer dressing to baking dish. Dressing may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.
• Drizzle dressing with stock or broth and bake, covered, in oven 1 hour. Uncover dressing and bake 30 minutes more. (Dressing may be baked with turkey.)

Steps:

• Soak the prunes for an hour in the port. Meanwhile, prepare the chestnuts. Make a slit in the top of each one with a sharp knife. Put them in boiling water and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove them from the water a few at a time with a slotted spoon. Wearing clean rubber gloves to protect your fingers, slip off the outer and inner skins while the chestnuts are still hot. Place the chestnuts in a large bowl.
• Melt the butter in a large skillet and add the onion, garlic, celery and thyme. Cook without browning until the onion has softened. Add the chestnuts and the prunes with the port that they have been soaking in along with the stock, and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Add more stock if necessary.
• Stir in the parsley, season with salt and pepper and stuff the mixture into the goose cavity. Sew up the cavity and truss the goose.

Steps:

• Put oven rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 400°F.
• Scatter bread in a single layer in 2 large shallow baking pans (17 by 12 inches) and toast, stirring once or twice and switching position of pans halfway through baking, until golden and dry, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a very large bowl.
• Cook pancetta in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until browned, 12 to 15 minutes. Add butter and heat until melted, then add celery and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 12 minutes. Stir in sage, salt, and pepper and cook 1 minute. Add pancetta mixture along with chestnuts and prunes to bowl containing bread. Whisk together stock and eggs, then stir into bread mixture until combined well. Transfer to baking dish (stuffing will mound above dish).
• Bake, loosely covered with a buttered sheet of foil (buttered side down) 30 minutes, then remove foil and bake until top is browned, 10 to 15 minutes more.

Steps:

• Chestnut Purée: If using fresh chestnuts, peel them as follows: with a very sharp knife, carefully cut each shell from top to bottom along one side. For large chestnuts, remove a 1/8 inch strip by making a second parallel cut. Place the chestnuts in a saucepan, cover with cold water, and bring to boiling. Boil for one minute. Remove from saucepan from heat, but do not drain. Take a couple chestnuts at a time, and peel the shells and the inner skin. They are butter colored when properly peeled. For large chestnuts it may be difficult/impossible to remove the inner skin -- just scrub them to get a reasonable amount off.
• Place the chestnuts in a saucepan, along with celery stalks and herbs. If using dried herbs wrap them in cheesecloth to form an herb bouquet.
• Pour in the beef stock, and enough water to cover the chestnuts by about an inch. Simmer uncovered for 45 minutes. At this point you can skip below and begin preparing the Meat Stuffing portion of this recipe.
• Drain immediately, reserving the chestnut cooking liquid.
• Remove the celery, and herbs/herb bouquet.
• Place the chestnuts in a food processor. Run for several seconds until coarsely ground. Add the heavy cream and run for several seconds until evenly mixed.
• The mixture should be spreadable but retain a crunchy texture. If too dry, carefully add the reserved cooking liquid one tablespoon at a time. You don't want baby-food texture, so don't over do it.
• Adjust salt and pepper to taste. A little sugar if needed. Cover and set aside.
• Meat Stuffing: slowly cook the finely chopped onions with the butter in a large skillet until tender, but not browned. Probably 8 minutes or so.
• Transfer onions to a large mixing bowl. There should be a little butter left in the skillet -- add more if needed.
• Pour the wine or cognac into the warm skillet. Boil down to about half the volume. Transfer to mixing bowl. Scrap out any bubbly sugar too. Note: even a bourbon liqueur should work well -- you want something with plenty of sugar and a decent flavor, not necessarily a high price.
• Add all the remaining ingredients to the mixing bowl, and beat thoroughly. Don't use your hands -- the goal is mixed not mushed.
• (Optional: the Meat Stuffing and the completed Chestnut Purée can be separately refrigerated at this point. I'd say a day in advance would be safe.).
• Assembly: the original recipe had everything assembled and cooked inside a goose. I prefer cooking stuffing in a separate pan. Adjust the following steps as suits your preference.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Grease a shallow casserole or gratin. Starting with the Meat Stuffing, layer the ingredients in the casserole. I found that meat-chestnut-meat-chestnut-meat worked well. Specifically, my ratios went something like 40% of the meat, half the purée, 40% of the meat, the remaining half of the purée, the remaining 20% of the meat as a crumble-topping.
• (Pro tip: here's an easy way to estimate the 40-40-20% ratio. Evenly distribute the meat in the skillet -- no big hills or valleys. Now, imagine the skillet is the face of a clock. The portion between "noon" and 25 minutes past the hour is about 40% of the material. Likewise, the portion between 25 minutes past the hour and 10 minutes before the hour is the next 40%. The final portion between 10 minutes before the hour and noon is the last 20%.).
• Brown the casserole in the hot oven for 20 to 25 minutes. The top should be brown, and any exposed bacon should be approaching crumbly.
• Alternately, if the Chestnut Purée and Meat Stuffing ingredients were refrigerated prior to final assembly, start with a 350 oven. Assemble as above, Heat the casserole for 20 minutes. Advance the oven to 450, and brown for 10-15 minutes, checking frequently.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Heat the oil in a large frying pan, then fry the onions and two-thirds of the bacon, covered, for 10 mins until the onions are very soft. Once cool enough to handle, mix with the chopped chestnuts, sausagemeat, breadcrumbs, thyme leaves and egg, and season really well. Take out 250g for stuffing the turkey.
• Butter a 23cm round tin, scoop in the remaining stuffing, press down a little, then top with the remaining bacon. Put onto a baking sheet, cover with foil and bake for 15 mins.
• Uncover, grind over some fresh black pepper, then cook for 35 mins more until the bacon is turning golden. With 5 mins to go, top with the chestnut halves, if you like, brushing them with a little butter. Cut into wedges to serve.

Steps:

• Soak the cranberries in the port for an hour. Fry the onion and bacon gently in the butter, until the onion is tender and the bacon is cooked. Add the garlic and fry for another minute or so.
• Cool slightly, then mix with all the remaining ingredients, including the cranberries and port, adding enough egg to bind - I find it easiest to use my hands. Fry a knob of stuffing in a little butter, taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
• To Cook: This stuffing can be baked in a dish, or rolled into balls that will be crisp on the outside and moist inside. To bake, press the stuffing into a greased ovenproof dish in a layer that is around 4cm thick. Bake at 190C/gas 5/fan 170C for about 40 minutes, until browned and, in the case of sausagemeat stuffing, cooked right through. Alternatively, roll into balls that are about 4cm in diameter. Roast the stuffing balls in hot fat (they can be tucked around the turkey or done in a roasting tin of their own) for 30-40 minutes, until crisp and nicely browned on the outside.

Steps:

• Put oven rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 400°F
• Scatter bread in a single layer in 2 large shallow baking pans (17 by 12 inches) and toast, stirring once or twice and switching position of pans halfway through baking, until golden and dry, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a very large bowl.
• Cook pancetta in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until browned, 12 to 15 minutes.
• Add butter and heat until melted, then add celery and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 12 minutes.
• Stir in sage, salt, and pepper and cook 1 minute.
• Add pancetta mixture along with chestnuts and prunes to bowl containing bread.
• Whisk together stock and eggs, then stir into bread mixture until combined well.
• Transfer to 4 quart wide baking dish (stuffing will mound above dish).
• Bake, loosely covered with a buttered sheet of foil (buttered side down) 30 minutes, then remove foil and bake until top is browned, 10 to 15 minutes more.
• Cooks' notes:.
• • Stuffing, without stock-and-egg mixture, can be assembled (but not baked) 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Stir in stock mixture, then proceed with recipe.
• • Stuffing can be baked 6 hours ahead and cooled completely, uncovered, then chilled, loosely covered. Reheat, covered, in a preheated 400°F oven until hot, about 30 minutes.