Chef’s Recipe: A Different Stuffing for Turkey

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.