Mushroom and Chestnut Stuffing

Christmas is upon us, so it's time for a stuffing recipe using either fresh or dried mushrooms. The best thing about this recipe is that you make it a day or two in advance, then just bake it on the day. I mean, who wants to be making stuffing on Christmas Day when they can be taking a dip in the icy sea 🥶

Works best with: any mushroom, fresh or dried

Serves: 4

Ingredients 

• Oil
• 1 medium onion, finely diced (red, white or half & half)
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 300g fresh mushrooms, or 50g dried mushrooms rehydrated
• 1/2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves, or 1/4 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tbsp fresh oregano leaves, or 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 8 fresh sage leaves, or 1/2 tsp dried sage
• 1 pack pre-cooked, vacuum packed chestnuts (180g)
• 100g wholemeal bread, stale or not
• Bunch fresh parsley

Method

• Preheat the oven to 190°C, if cooking immediately
• Heat a good glug of oil over a medium heat
• Fry the onions for a few minutes, then add in the mushrooms and garlic, stirring all the time to avoid them catching on the bottom of the pan
• Once all the liquid has evaporated, 5-10 mins, transfer into a food processor
• Add in the rest of the ingredients and blitz until the mixture starts to come together - you don't want it too smooth
• Put the stuffing into a baking dish, or roll into balls
• At this stage you can let the stuffing cool down, cover and store in the fridge, or pop in the oven
• Cook for 30-40 minutes until crispy (if you made stuffing balls, they'll take less time to cook than in a baking dish)