Sourdough Stuffing with Bacon, Sage & Apple

This wonderfully rich stuffing recipe that can be used to fill your roast chicken or can be served alongside chicken as the perfect side dish. It’s an incredibly versatile dish. Try substituting the apples for prunes and the bacon for Portobello mushrooms to create a delicious spin on this recipe.

Ingredients

1 medium onion, finely diced

1 stick celery, finely diced

3 cloves garlic, finely diced

120g streaky free range bacon, cut into 1cm pieces

2 tbsp butter

1 apple, peeled and cut into 1cm pieces

1 tbsp finely chopped rosemary leaves

¼ cup finely chopped sage leaves

½ loaf sourdough bread, torn into 3cm chunks

1½ cups chicken stock

1 free range egg

Olive oil for sautéing

Cracked black pepper.

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Place the torn sourdough on an oven-prof tray and toast for 5 minutes. Leave to cool completely before adding to the pan.
3. Heat a generous glug of olive oil in a sauté pan over a medium heat. Add the onion, celery, garlic and bacon. Cook until the onion is tender and translucent. Add the butter, apple and herbs. Add some cracked black pepper. Cook for 2 minutes. Add the sourdough and toss well. Add half the stock and stir through so that the bread is evenly coated.
4. Let the stuffing cool for 20 minutes before spooning into a well-greased oven-proof dish. At this stage you can pop the stuffing in the fridge until you are ready to bake it (up to 24 hours beforehand).
5. Whisk together the remaining stock and the egg. Pour over the stuffing evenly. Cover with tin foil.
6. Bake for 1 hour. Remove tinfoil halfway through cooking.

To alter this recipe to be stuffed inside your roast chicken

Reduce the amount of bread by ⅓. Follow the recipe up until the point of adding the second half of the stock and egg. Do not follow this step. Simply fill the cavity of your chicken with the stuffing, tie the legs together to help the chicken hold it’s shape and cook at 180°C until golden brown and the juices run clear from the thigh when pierced. This is usually around 90 minutes.