Sunday, November 15, 2009
Food, Recipes
Stuff it
Make sausage stuffing with caramelized leek and sage
The Reynolds GroupBy Tom Colicchio
When I was growing up, my grandmother always made Thanksgiving dinner. Her stuffing was a basic one with celery, onion, sage, garlic, parmesan cheese, breakfast sausage and of course, cubed bread. My stuffing recipe is an evolution of the one I grew up on.
Instead of plain white bread, I use a semolina fennel raisin bread. If you can’t find this in your store, you can add fennel and raisins to regular semolina bread. Good stuffing needs plenty of fat, and one advantage to cooking in a restaurant kitchen is there are always scraps of things there for the taking. So in addition to breakfast sausage, I collect pork belly scraps and foie gras scraps and use them to add extra richness and depth of flavor to the dish. SP
Tom Colicchio is the executive chef and owner of Craft Atlanta and Craftbar (among other national locations). 3376 Peachtree Road. 404-995-7580. www.craftrestaurant.com.
SAUSAGE STUFFING WITH CARAMELIZED LEEK AND SAGE
Serves 8
Ingredients:
- 2 packages breakfast sausage
- 1 cup finely chopped fennel
- 1/2 cup finely chopped carrots
- 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
- 1/2 cup finely chopped leeks
- 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 1/4 raw foie gras, diced (optional)
- 1 cup golden raisins soaked in hot water and drained
- 2 pounds crusty French bread, cubed, placed on a tray and left out overnight
- Fresh thyme leaves
- Fresh sage leaves
- Toasted fennel seed
- 6 large lightly beaten eggs
- 2 to 3 cups chicken stock
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions:
Cook sausage in large sauté pan over medium heat until browned. Remove pan from heat and set aside, saving the sausage fat. Remove sausage with a slotted spoon. Cut into 1/4-inch pieces. Set aside. Place pan back on the stove over medium heat. Add chopped fennel, carrots, celery, leeks, onion and garlic. Sauté about 10 minutes. In a large mixing bowl, place the sausage, sautéed vegetables, foie gras (if using), raisins, bread cubes, thyme, sage and fennel seeds to taste. Thoroughly mix in eggs. Slowly add just enough chicken stock until mixture is moist. Add salt and pepper to taste. Place in a large gratin dish. Cover with foil, and bake for 30 minutes in a preheated 350 degrees F. oven. Uncover, and bake until browned.