1 Video | Photo: Chestnut and Pear Stuffing Recipe
Ingredients
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 8 ounces slab bacon, cut into 1/4-inch dice
- 4 ribs celery, cut into 1/4-inch dice
- 2 Spanish onions, cut into 1/4-inch dice
- 1/4 fennel bulb, cut into 1/4-inch dice
- Kosher salt
- 4 sprigs rosemary, picked and finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed and finely chopped
- 8 ounces peeled chestnuts, coarsely chopped
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries
- 4 Anjou pears, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
- 2 cups dry white wine
- 12 cups cubed crustless, stale sourdough or peasant bread
- 4 cups chicken stock, warmed
Directions
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.
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By bsinga
Cumming, GA
on December 26, 2012
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This stuffing tasted too smokey - it was the bacon I believe. Not well received around my Christmas dinner table. Definitely, not one of Anne's best recipes.
By Cookin Cotati
Cotati, CA
on January 12, 2012
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Really a terrific stuffing recipe! Easy to make after your prep work is done. A keeper for sure. Thanks again, Anne for another winner at the table.
By berger9953
Oregon
on December 29, 2011
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This recipe was amazing. I've made my classic stuffing in the past with 2 sticks of butter and everyone loves it, but this recipe left out the butter and the bacon fat adds so much more flavor. I used hazelnuts instead of chestnuts simply because I like them more and I couldn't find chestnuts, and they were delicious in it. And the cranberries add a loveliness to the dish. And I never thought of putting fennel in stuffing, fennel is my favorite vegetable so I put a whole bulb in. This was so good! Thanks Anne!
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