Totally Stuffed

[Spud Larkin]

It’s a pity we think of stuffing mainly as accompaniments to the
Christmas turkey. They’re a great way to turn plain roasts into
something special, and the most inexperienced of cooks can make them.
These recipes give you enough to stuff a 2kg (4lb) chicken or boned
leg of lamb.
All of these should be stuffed into the cavity of a bird or inside a
boned leg of lamb before cooking. If you prefer not to stuff poultry,
bake the stuffing alongside the meat, covered with foil for 30
minutes, then remove the foil and cook for another 10 minutes.

Chorizo, Red Pepper & Potato
Sauté 150g (5 ½ oz) sliced chorizo (pull the papery skin off first)
with a chopped and deseeded red pepper and tbsp olive oil. Add 200g
(7oz) finely cubed waxy potatoes (don’t worry about peeling them) and
cook for another couple of minutes, until the potato is pale gold and
the pepper is quite soft. Season and add some chopped parsley or fresh
coriander and a squeeze of lemon. Let the stuffing cool. Good for
chicken

Potato, Olive, Fennel & Pancetta
Remove any tough outer leaves from 2 fennel bulbs. Trim at the top and
base, quarter the bulbs and remove the core. Discard these bits but
keep any little fronds of fennel to add to the final stuffing. Chop
the fennel flesh then sauté it in 3 tbsp olive oil with 200g (7oz)
finely cubed waxy potatoes (no need to peel them), ½ finely shopped
small onion, 55g (2oz) chopped black olives flesh and 100g(3 ½ oz)
finely cubed pancetta. Add the grated rind of ½ lemon, season and
leave to cool. Use to stuff chicken or boned leg of lamb.

Watercress, Apricot and Hazelnut
An idea shapelessly stolen – and little changed – from the wonderful
chef, Shaun Hill. Sauté a finely chopped onion in 25g (1oz) butter.
Mix with 75g (2 ¾) finely chopped dried apricots (he kind that don’t
need soaking), 100g (3 ½oz) wholemeal breadcrumbs, 55g (1oz) butter,
cut into little chunks, and 1 beaten egg. Combine everything well. Use
to stuff chicken

Fruited Couscous
Pour 125ml (4fl oz) boiling water or stock over 125g (4 ½ oz) couscous
and leave for 15 minutes. Fork through the grains to separate them,
add 2 tbsp of olive oil and season well. Stir in 100g (3 ½ oz) shopped
dried fruit (soaked and drained raisins, apricots, cherries and
cranberries are all god) and the zest and juice of ½ lemon is good,
too, and you can add chopped pistachios or almonds as ell, plus
chopped parsley, mint or coriander. For chicken, or a boned leg of
lamb.

Polish Stuffing
Melt 45g (1½oz) butter in a frying pan and cook a small, finely
chopped onion until soft but not coloured. Add 100g (3½oz) finely
chopped chicken livers and cook for a few more minutes. Put into a
bowl with 100g (3½oz) good cooked ham, chopped (get stuff cut from a
whole ham at the butcher’s or deli counter), 300g (10½ oz) white
breadcrumbs, 4 tbsp chopped dill, 1 small beaten egg and seasoning.
Mix everything together.

Prune, Sausage & Brandy
Put 150g (5 ½ oz) pitted and chopped prunes in a small saucepan and
pour over enough brandy just to cover. Simmer over a very low heat for
15 minutes. The fruit will plump up. Sauté a finely chopped onion in
35g (1 ¼ oz) breadcrumbs, a good handful of chopped parsley or some
thyme leaves and season. Mix and add the prunes and their soaking
liquid. Leave to cool. For chicken.

Aliza’s Chestnut, Cranberry & Oat
Don’t just use this at Christmas or Thanksgiving (it’s my friend’s
Thanksgiving stuffing) – it’s to good. Sauté 1 roughly chopped small
onion in 75g (2 ¾ oz) butter until soft but not coloured. (You can
also sauté finely cubed pancetta or bacon, or chunks of sausage meat
with the onion.) Add 75g (2 ¾ oz) fresh cranberries and cook until
they have softened, then add 75g (2 ¾ oz) dried cranberries and 4
heaped tbsp cranberry sauce or jelly. Stir until the jelly or sauce
has melted, then add 150g (5 ½oz) oatmeal, 150g (5 ½ oz) cooked vacuum-
packed chestnuts (roughly chopped) and season really well. Stir. The
mixture should be quite moist and shinny – add more butter if it
isn’t. Leave to cool. Use to stuff chicken.

Cherry & Dill
Scandinavian-inspired and lovely with chicken in the spring. Sauté a
finely chopped medium onion in 55g (2oz) butter until soft but not
coloured. Mix this into 150g (5½oz) white breadcrumbs, 85g (3oz)
chopped watercress (leaves and fine stems only) and 115g (4oz) dried
pitted sour cherries that have been soaked in boiling water for 15
minutes and drained. Add a beaten egg, a small bunch of shopped dill
leaves, salt and pepper. Eat your stuffed chicken with a bowl of sour
cream mixed with chopped cucumber and a crushed clove of garlic.

Aubergine & Date
One for using to stuff boned lamb. Cut and aubergine into small cubes
and sauté in a frying pan in 3 tbsp olive oil until golden on all
sides. Season and put into a bowl. Using another 2 tbsp olive oil,
sauté ½ finely chopped onion until soft but not coloured. Add a
crushed garlic clove and 1 tsp ground cinnamon and cook for another
minute. Stir into the aubergine along with 200g (7oz) chopped stoned
dates, the juice of ½ lemon, salt and pepper and 12 torn mint leaves.

Georgian Stuffing
Gorgeous and exotic. You can use dried sour cherries – soaked and
drained – in place of the pomegranate seeds. Just mix 75g (2 ¾ oz)
walnut pieces with 200g (7oz) crumbled feta cheese, 3 crushed garlic
cloves. The seeds from ½ ripe pomegranate, a handful of chopped fresh
coriander, 4 tbsp olive oil and seasoning. Stuff a chicken with this,
drizzle with olive oil, and scatter on salt, pepper and ½ tbsp ground
cayenne. Roast and serve with wedges of lemon, a green salad and a big
bowl of bulgur wheat.