Move over, turkey, there’s a new centrepiece in town! Chorizo and fig stuffing is a moreish addition to the holiday table. Crammed with chewy sourdough chunks and smoky chorizo, apples, figs, chestnuts, aromatic herbs and pinenuts, it is a veritable feast in itself! This beautiful stuffing is a side-dish stunner and always the first thing to be finished.
So, this year I’m making a spare of sausage, pear and sage, just to keep things interesting. Made with some common ingredients and basically the same method, it’s almost no extra work for an extra Christmas dish.
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Homemade stuffing recipe
How many times have you bought a pre-packaged stuffing mix to go alongside your gleaming roast, only for it to lurk in a congealed and grey misery next to the glistening vegetables and golden roast potatoes? Well, that stops today!
This homemade stuffing recipe is easy to put together, uses 100% fresh ingredients, and doesn’t contain an overwhelming amount of salt, any added sugar, or shelf-life prolonging additives or preservatives. With only 10 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes in the oven, it will change your life! Or your holiday roast, at least.
Christmas dinner side dishes can get a bit predictable but showcasing traditional winter ingredients like juicy apple and sticky and textured dried figs with on-trend spicy chorizo, this one is an unexpected delight.
After a low and slow sauté for the Spanish sausage, onion, celery, apple and garlic, they are brought together with chunks of tangy sourdough, the dried figs and fudgy chestnuts.
I add piney fresh rosemary and perky parsley to give it some lift, citrussy thyme would also work, then mix together with chicken stock and a beaten egg to keep it tantalisingly moist in the middle. Then it goes in the oven.
My family fight over the crunchy toffee-coloured peaks baking without covering delivers. Just cook it at a low temperature to avoid it catching. And if it does accidentally come out a little on the dark and dry side, a homemade gravy is a Christmas miracle.
Recipe tips and notes
- A crusty bread will deliver the best stuffing texture. I favour a robust, slightly stale sourdough.
- Chorizo is a wonder ingredient: meaty, peppy, salty, fatty! Using it as a base ingredient will subtly infuse the others with its signature flavour. Use cured chorizo if possible, or chorizo-style sausages if not.
- Take the time to gently sauté everything. Your patience will be rewarded!
- And use fresh herbs. While dried will work in a pinch, they don’t offer the same uplifting zing that fresh do. Rosemary and parsley compliment the chorizo and fig best, but thyme could work too.
- This one’s not a turkey stuffer. Use sausage meat for that! This homemade stuffing is too pretty to be hidden away in a turkey’s cavity! It’s a centrepiece in its own right. Bake in your most beautiful, oven-proof dish for a colourful and golden top.
- The combination of savoury chorizo and sweet figs and apple is divine. If you’re not a fig fan, substitute for dried apricots so you don’t miss out on texture and sweetness.
- Christmas means chestnuts. They are one of my favourite Christmas ingredients. I use a half bread/ half chestnut mix here. They are starchy like bread, but with a fudgy texture that binds the stuffing well.
- However, if chestnuts aren’t your thing, double the amount of bread in the recipe.
- I bake my stuffing uncovered to achieve a crusty topping. It won’t dry out, believe me! A short cooking time, added chicken stock and beaten egg will make sure of that.
Serving suggestions
The seasonal flavours of chestnuts, figs and apple scream Christmas and there’s no denying they pair well with a traditional roast turkey, homemade gravy, roast potatoes and Brussels sprouts and carrots.
And while this beauty certainly deserves pride of place at the holiday feast, it makes a satisfying side dish at any winter roast: a classic roast chicken and thyme, roast leg of lamb with a lemony crust, or this roast pork with exotic persimmon sauce.
And, on Boxing Day, wedge a slice of it into your turkey sandwich with a drop of gravy. The traditional turkey sandwiches are looking a whole lot fruitier this year! …if there are any leftovers that is.
Storage and leftovers
Cooking a Christmas dinner can get a little stressful with a multitude of dishes and timers and utensils and diners and remembering ALL THE THINGS! So, a leg up in the kitchen is always appreciated. This Christmas stuffing can be made ahead of the big day. Phew!
Prepare the dish up to the point of going into the oven and refrigerate for between 3 and 4 days. Or, if you really do have loads to do, it will freeze quite nicely for up to 3 months.
Leftover cooked chorizo stuffing can be reheated low (180C/350F) in the oven for 20 minutes. You might want to add a splash of stock to the dish before it goes in to keep it moist.
More Christmas side dishes
- Garlic Butter Dinner Rolls
- Savoury Sweet Potato Casserole
- Herb and Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- Hot Honey Baked Camembert in Bread Bowl
Chorizo and Fig Stuffing
Ingredients
- 200g / 7 oz stale bread
- 100g / 3.5 oz cured Spanish chorizo diced
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 small onion chopped
- 1 stalk celery diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 apple diced
- 10 dried figs chopped
- 100g / 1 cup chestnuts pre-cooked, chopped
- 2-3 rosemary leaves only, chopped
- 35g / ¼ cup pine nuts
- 250ml / 1 cup This is an affiliate link.chicken stock
- 1 egg slightly beaten
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F/180C and butter an oven proof dish. Cube the bread and put it in a large bowl.
- Start by sautéing the diced chorizo over low heat for 5 minutes until it releases the fat and flavour, then add the butter chopped onion and diced celery with herbs and continue sautéing everything together on low heat for about 5 minutes, add the diced apple and cook for 5 minutes, then bring in garlic and cook for 30 seconds longer. Transfer to the bowl with bread.
- Dice the figs and chestnuts and add them to the bowl with the stuffing. Drizzle the chicken stock all over and mix to combine, then do the same with a beaten egg, season with salt and transfer to the buttered baking dish.
- Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes until puffed up and golden.
