Festive Feasts: A French-style Turkey Stuffing

Christmas is fast approaching, so here is a different recipe for turkey stuffing from one of our barge chefs using some fine ingredients from various regions of France.

Ingredients

1oz butter
1 tbsp of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 Comice pears, skinned and roughly chopped
Salt and black pepper
1 tsp of chopped sage
3oz of French walnuts, chopped and toasted
12 slices of stale white bread, chopped into cubes
½ pint of chicken or vegetable stock
1 egg, beaten
4oz of St Agur blue cheese, crumbled

Method

• In a large flat pan, melt the olive oil and butter then add the onion and garlic
• Cook gently until the onion is soft and translucent.
• Add in the chopped pear and cook until tender, before adding the chopped sage.
• Season with salt and pepper and stir the mixture well. Set to one side.
• Put the bread cubes in a large mixing bowl, then incorporate the onion and pear mixture.
• Stir in the walnuts and slowly pour in the chicken or vegetable stock until the stuffing reaches the consistency you prefer.
• Stir in the beaten egg and around half of the St Agur blue cheese.
• Transfer the whole mixture to a large buttered baking dish and sprinkle the remaining blue cheese on the top, pressing it into the top of the mixture.
• Cover with foil and bake in a pre-heated oven at 350-400F for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and put it back in the oven for 10-15 minutes until the top is crisp and brown.