BRIOCHE STUFFING WITH CHESTNUTS AND FIGS

Brioche Stuffing With Chestnuts and Figs image

This luxurious vegetarian stuffing recipe from Daniel Humm, the chef of Eleven Madison Park and NoMad in New York, came to The Times in 2010 when the Well blog published several recipes appropriate for the meat-free Thanksgiving table. Here, vegetarian sausage stands in for traditional pork, and the addition of apple, fennel and chestnuts provide a pleasing combination of flavors and textures. It is a rich and delicious dressing that everyone will love.

Provided by Tara Parker-Pope

Categories casseroles, side dish

Time 1h

Yield 10 servings

Number Of Ingredients 18

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Ingredients

1/2 loaf of brioche
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup celery, medium fine dice
1/2 cup fennel, medium fine dice
1/4 cup Fiji apple, medium fine dice
1 cup Spanish onion, medium fine dice
1 pound vegetarian sausage, finely diced (optional)
2/3 cup glazed chestnuts, medium fine dice
2/3 cup dried figs, medium fine dice
1/3 cup reduced (syrupy) vegetable stock
2 cups vegetable stock
1 tablespoon salt
2 eggs
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, chopped
2 teaspoons fresh sage leaves, chopped
2 teaspoons fresh marjoram leaves, chopped
1 pinch quatre épices
2 teaspoons ground pepper

Steps:

Dice brioche into a medium-fine dice and allow to dry in a low oven or overnight at room temperature. Once dry, you will have about 2 cups total.
Melt 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) of butter in a sauté pan. Sweat the celery, fennel, apple and onion until translucent and soft. ("Sweating" vegetables means slowly cooking them over low heat until soft but not brown.)
In a second sauté pan, melt the remaining butter and cook sausage gently. Combine the butter and sausage with the diced brioche, celery and onion mixture, chestnuts, figs, reduced stock and stock in a large bowl and toss gently. Season with salt to taste. Gently add eggs and toss to combine. Finish with chopped herbs, spices and pepper.
Bake in a 9- by 13-inch baking dish at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 40 minutes or until browned and hot throughout.

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 221, UnsaturatedFat 4 grams, Carbohydrate 26 grams, Fat 12 grams, Fiber 2 grams, Protein 4 grams, SaturatedFat 7 grams, Sodium 341 milligrams, Sugar 6 grams, TransFat 0 grams