Vegetable-Herb Stuffing

By á-33940

Our trio of stuffings all call for toasting and cubing the bread first. To free up your oven for pies and the turkey on Thanksgiving Day, it's a good idea to do this up to 1 week ahead. When toasted bread cubes are completely cool, transfer to a self-sealing plastic bag and store at room temperature

Yields: 12 cups
Total Time: 1 hr 25 min
Oven Temp: 400

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 loaf(s) (16 ounces each) sliced firm white bread
• 1 tablespoon(s) olive oil
• 2 medium carrots, finely chopped
• 2 medium stalks celery, finely chopped
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup(s) (loosely packed) fresh parsley leaves, coarsely chopped
• 3/4 teaspoon(s) poultry seasoning
• Salt and pepper
• 2 1/2 cup(s) chicken broth

Preparation

Step 1

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease shallow 3- to 3 1/2-quart ceramic or glass baking dish; set aside. Arrange bread on 2 large ungreased cookie sheets, and toast in oven 16 to 17 minutes or until golden and dry, turning slices over halfway through toasting.
2. Meanwhile, in 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil on medium 1 minute. Add carrots, celery, and onion, and cook about 12 minutes or until vegetables are tender and lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Remove skillet from heat; stir in parsley, poultry seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.
3. With serrated knife, cut bread into 1/2-inch cubes, and place in very large bowl. Reset oven control to 325 degrees. Add chicken broth and vegetable mixture to bread in bowl; toss until bread mixture is evenly moistened.
4. Spoon stuffing into prepared baking dish. Cover dish with foil and bake stuffing 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake 15 to 20 minutes longer or until heated through and lightly browned on top.


5. To make Whole-Grain Apple-Fennel Stuffing: Prepare stuffing as above in step 1, but substitute 1 loaf (24 ounces) sliced whole-grain bread for white bread. In step 2, increase olive oil to 2 tablespoons, and omit carrots and celery. Add onion to skillet, and cook with 1 bulb fennel (1 pound), trimmed of stems, then chopped, 10 minutes or until tender. Omit parsley and poultry seasoning. Stir in 2 Golden Delicious apples, unpeeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch chunks, and 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves along with salt and pepper. In step 3, to bread cubes in bowl, add apple mixture, 1/2 cup dried cranberries, and 1/2 cup water along with broth. Complete recipe as in step 4. Makes about 13 cups.