Sourdough bread stuffing

I know it can often be intimidating to prepare a meal on Thanksgiving or Christmas for family & friends. There is a lot of pressure to come up with a menu which will be appreciated by the guests while also not being too much of a hassle to cook and serve. When it comes to me, I love making the complete holiday dinner for my family and friends every year which includes all the usual suspects such as Green bean casserole, Mashed potatoes, Candied yams, Apple pie, Pumpkin pie, Tomato and pumpkin soup, Grilled asparagus, Roasted root vegetables, Cranberry sauce and Lasagna / Pasta (just no turkey as we are vegetarians). As the holiday season is around the corner, I share with you my recipes for a traditional American holiday meal. Today in Part 4 of my Holiday Special series, I give you a simple recipe for ‘Sourdough Bread Stuffing’ which is sure to be a hit with the crowd. Happy Holidays!!

Sourdough bread stuffing

Ingredients

500 gms loaf – Sourdough bread
8 Tbsp – Butter
300 gms sliced ½ inch thick – Cremini mushrooms
3 ½ cups – Vegetable broth
3 Tbsp finely chopped – Italian parsley leaves
2 Tbsp finely chopped – Fresh thyme
2 Tbsp finely chopped – Sage leaves
¾ cup chopped – Onion
1 cup roughly chopped – Celery stalks
Butter to grease baking dish
Salt and fresh pepper to taste

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 °F
2. Grease a 2 quart baking dish with butter and set aside
3. Tear the bread / cut the bread into 1 inch cubes and spread on 2 baking trays/ sheets.
4. Toast for 20 mins or until crisp and brown
5. Transfer the toasted bread pieces to a large mixing bowl
6. Melt 2 Tbsp of butter in a large pan over medium high heat
7. Add mushrooms and salt and sauté while stirring occasionally to get the mushrooms to golden brown color, approx 5-7 mins
8. Add the celery, onions, 2 Tbsp butter and thyme
9. Now cook until all vegetables are softened , approx 5-6 mins
10. Add sage, remaining 4 Tbsp butter and then add the vegetable broth and mix well
11. Add salt, pepper and mix and remove from flame
12. Add this vegetable mixture to the toasted bread pieces and mix till bread pieces absorb all the liquid
13. Transfer this mixture to the greased baking dish and sprinkle with parsley
14. Bake until the crust is golden brown (approx 40 mins)
15. Remove stuffing from over and allow to cool for 10-15 mins before serving with Tofurky, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes

TIPS :

1. Make sure the bread pieces don’t overlap when you spread them on the baking sheet as you need all the pieces to toast perfectly in the oven
2. You can choose to add chopped apples or pears to the vegetable broth too
3. If you want you can add a little bit of grated cheese to the top of the dish and grill for a minute or two to get a nice golden brown color and add more flavor