Ahh, stuffing – what would a Sunday roast be without you?  Or Christmas dinner?  Or those guilty pleasure stuffing and gravy sandwiches I used to make at 3am…

Stuffing is, of course, a conundrum – arguably one of the tastiest parts of the dish, does it function as a mere filler to the meat or as its own side dish?  Personally I prefer the latter, enjoying a delicious crisp finish to the meal.  You may disagree.  Furthermore, I recently discovered that British stuffing is far more finely chopped than many American ideals of stuffing, which seem to prefer torn/coarsely chopped bread.

Whatever your preference, this side-dish is packed with flavour.  Though I probably wouldn’t pair it with pork, for fear of an overly salted meal, I can see it working with poultry or even beef very well.  Or just on its own!  In a sandwich!  At 3am!

Ingredients

• Fresh mushrooms (finely chopped)
• Bacon (preferably smoked)
• Bread – I think wholemeal is best, as white bread can clump too much
• Onions
• Butter
• White Wine (optional – could be replaced with stock)
• Herbs – thyme/rosemary/sage are best for that rustic roast feel.
• Seasoning – Add this at the last moment – the strong flavours of the bacon and mushroom will probably be plenty, and you don’t want to oversalt the dish.

Method

1. Preheat your oven to a fairly low 160-170C.
2. Crumb your bread as much as you desire – I went for fairly fine, with a few larger chunks for texture.  Coat with a little oil and cook in the oven until dry and crisp, but not too brown.  20 minutes or so is plenty.
   
3. Slice your bacon into as small cubes as you would like and fry over a medium heat for a few minutes, just until slightly cooked.
   
4. Throw in a knob of butter and the chopped mushrooms and continue to fry until most of the moisture is out of the mushrooms.
   
5. Add the onions and cook for a few more minutes.
   
6. Add just enough wine to cover the mixture and continue to cook while the wine evaporates and thickens.
   
7. When the wine is roughly half reduced (a few minutes max) add the breadcrumbs and stir through.  Continue to cook on the heat until the mix is as dry/well mixed as you would like.  At this point you can either stuff your meat, or transfer to an oven-proof dish to bake for a while.
   

Serving

It’s stuffing.  Work it out.