Tuscan Style Dressing w/ Sausage, Fennel, & Hazelnuts
In my family stuffing is called "dressing" and not really stuffed into the bird at all, rather baked separately in a covered casserole dish. I almost always add sausage to my dressing as it lends tremendous flavor and moisture. This recipe, inspired by the flavors of Tuscany, makes use of Rudi's new pre-packed gluten-free stuffing mix. To make the whole thing from scratch, cube a loaf of gluten-free bread and let it dry out over night (I'd recommend trying gluten-free foccia bread).
Ingredients
- ½ cup hazelnuts
- 1 pound link spicy Italian sausage
- ¼ cup butter
- 1 large onion diced
- 3 stalks of celery diced
- 1 fennel bulb green top cut off and reserved, stem end cut off and discarded, and the rest diced
- ½ cup chopped parsley
- ¼ cup chopped fennel frond the green top part
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
- ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper
- 1 package gluten-free stuffing mix I use Rudi's
- 2 cups turkey stock or chicken stock
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place hazelnuts on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until lightly golden brown, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven and pour into a clean dish towel. Rub nuts with the towel until the skins peel off. Chop nuts in half and place in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Heat a large skillet over a medium flame. Remove sausage from casing and break apart with a spatula. Cook sausage until brown and crumbly and pour into the bowl with the nuts.
- Return pan to stove and add butter. When butter has melted add onions, celery and fennel and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and translucent, about 10 minutes. Pour into the bowl with the sausage and nuts.
- Add the parsley, chopped fennel frond, rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper and stuffing mix and toss to combine. Gently toss stuffing mixture with the stock and place in a well-greased covered casserole dish (2 quart) and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Take stuffing from the refrigerator about 1 hour before you are ready to bake it. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake stuffing, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove cover from stuffing and bake 15 minutes more, until golden brown on top. Serve immediately.
Nutrition
Calories: 267kcalCarbohydrates: 6gProtein: 9gFat: 23gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 48mgSodium: 453mgPotassium: 350mgFiber: 2gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 447IUVitamin C: 10mgCalcium: 38mgIron: 1mg
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