Whole Grain Stuffing With Kale And Dried Fruit Recipes

WHOLE-GRAIN STUFFING WITH KALE AND DRIED FRUIT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put bread on a baking sheet and toast, turning once or twice, until golden and dry, 10 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool a bit.
• While bread toasts, put a large pot of water to boil and salt it. Fill a large bowl with ice water. When pot comes to a boil, add kale; let it wilt for about a minute, then drain and plunge it into ice water. When cool, squeeze kale dry and roughly chop. Put kale, oil, vinegar, figs, dates, shallot, sage and nuts in a large salad bowl. Sprinkle with salt and lots of pepper and toss to coat.
• Fill a bowl with tap water and soak bread for about 3 minutes. Gently squeeze a slice dry and crumble it into salad bowl. Repeat with remaining slices. Toss well to combine stuffing and let sit for 15 to 20 minutes or cover and refrigerate for up to a day. Before finishing, taste and adjust seasoning.
• Place stuffing in bird and bake. Or to bake it outside of bird, grease a 2-quart or 9-by-13-inch baking dish and fill it with stuffing. Dot top with bits of butter if you like. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes; then uncover and finish baking until crisp, another 10 to 15 minutes more.

MIDWESTERN WHOLE WHEAT DRIED FRUIT STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250°F. Arrange bread slices on oven rack and bake until very dry but not brown, about 30 minutes. Transfer bread to very large bowl.
• Coarsely crumble bread. Mix in cherries, raisins, currants and prunes. Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium-low heat. Add onions and sauté until golden and tender, about 15 minutes. Add to stuffing. Mix in thyme. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.) Mix in eggs.
• To bake stuffing in turkey:
• Mix 3/4 cup broth into stuffing. Fill main turkey cavity with stuffing. Mix enough broth into remaining stuffing to moisten (about 3/4 to 1 cup broth, depending on amount of remaining stuffing). Spoon remaining stuffing into buttered baking dish. Cover with buttered foil. Bake stuffing in dish alongside turkey until heated through, about 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until top is crisp, about 15 minutes.
• To bake all stuffing in pan:
• Preheat oven to 350°F.Butter 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish. Mix 2 3/4 cups broth into stuffing. Transfer to prepared dish. Cover with buttered foil and bake until heated through, about 45 minutes. Uncover and bake until top is crisp, about 15 minutes.

SOURDOUGH STUFFING WITH KALE AND DATES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the crust off the bread and tear remaining loaf into 1-inch croutons. Place torn bread on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with 4 tablespoons olive oil, squeezing and tossing bread with your hands to help it absorb the oil. Transfer to oven and toast, tossing once or twice, until croutons are golden brown and crispy on the outside but still a little soft and tender inside, 12 to 15 minutes. When croutons have cooled, place them in a large bowl.
• Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and crumble sausage into pan. Sauté, breaking up sausage with a wooden spoon, until browned and just cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer sausage to the bowl with the croutons using a slotted spoon.
• Return the pot to medium heat and add 2 more tablespoons olive oil, the onions, the rosemary sprig, the thyme and the chile. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Continue cooking another 3 to 4 minutes, stirring often, until onion is soft and starting to color slightly.
• Add half the kale and the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil to the pan. Use tongs to turn the greens to coat them in oil and help them wilt and cook down. When there is room in the pan (from the greens wilting), add the rest of the kale and season with another 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. As soon as all the kale has wilted, transfer mixture to the bowl with the croutons and sausage. Remove rosemary. Add dates and stir well to combine.
• Return pot to stove over high heat and carefully pour in sherry. Boil until sherry is reduced by three-quarters, then add stock. Boil until mixture is reduced by half, then swirl in butter until melted.
• Pour hot liquid over crouton-kale mixture. Add almonds and toss well to combine; using tongs or your hands, squeeze and massage the stuffing to integrate the flavors and make sure bread has really soaked in all the liquid.
• Transfer stuffing to a ceramic baking dish or casserole. Cover and bake 15 minutes in the 400-degree oven. Uncover and bake 10 to 15 more minutes, or until top is golden and crisp.