I came up with this recipe years ago. I wanted to make something simple, delicious, and a step up from the stove top stuffings. As much as I like those, this is Thanksgiving! The bar has to be raised. 🙂
It is important to start the day before with the bread. I bought a Sourdough Boule ( I know I didn’t bake it, but this is a huge time saver with all the cooking we have to do!) and it gets torn up the day before to turn it a bit stale. This allows the absorbing of the broth without making it super soggy.
On the day of I slice up some cranberries and celery leaves. I usually use celery but right now all I have left in the garden is a few small stalks and a ton of leaves. I’m amazed I have that! Turns out the leaves are a better choice for colour and flavour.
I toss the cranberry and the celery into the bread and set aside. Next I chop up some garlic and onions and saute in olive oil.
Once the onions have softened a bit then I add about 4 cups of veg broth. Several of my family members are vegetarian so it is important that all the sides are vegetarian so they can eat. 🙂 Bring the broth mixture to a boil then simmer for a bit.
Now it is time to put it all together. Add a bit of the bread mixture to the baking pan and then add a bit of broth. It’s important not to add the broth all at once otherwise you will have really soggy spots. At this point I also add in shredded Italian cheeses. I usually get the 4-6 cheese variety.
Make sure you have plenty of bread as it will shrink down as you add the broth. Once it is filled up I top with cheese.
We had an oven already heated at 350 F so I covered the stuffing and baked for about 15 minutes, then I uncovered it until it browned on the top a bit.
It works really well with the turkey and I like putting a bit of the gravy over the stuffing. 🙂