Get stuffed? Don’t mind if I do!

I may have mentioned that I really don’t like the taste of sage 😛 This puts me in a minority (probably?) when it comes to stuffing the turkey at Christmas.

So I was very pleased when I found a recipe a couple of years ago for this delicious ‘Pork, chestnut and cranberry stuffing’ I’m telling you, I could forgo the bird and just eat this on its own!

To make this, you will need:

1lb good quality sausage meat*

6oz breadcrumbs

6oz vacuum packed chestnuts chopped (I used Merchants)

4oz cranberries, fresh or dried (I used Whitworths)

2 large cooking apples peeled, cored and chopped into cubes

1 large onion chopped

2 cloves garlic chopped

Small bunch parsley chopped

1 sprig thyme leaves stripped

2 sprig rosemary stripped

2oz butter

Zest of one large orange

*I use my favourite sausages, and squeeze them out of their skins!

Instructions:

Melt the butter in a frying pan and add the onion, garlic, and herbs. Cook gently until the onion is softened.

In a large bowl, add breadcrumbs, cranberries, apples, chestnuts and orange zest and mix well. Add the onion mix to this and mix again.

Add the sausage meat to the pan you used earlier and cook until golden brown, then add this to your bowl and mix thoroughly, using a fork to mash the sausage meat until fully combined. Use to stuff a 12lb bird and put any extra in a buttered oven proof dish. Cover in buttered foil and cook for approximately 45 mins on 180°C. You can take the foil off for the last 15 mins if you like a ‘crust’.

This also freezes well so is great to make ahead.