Jillian's Almost Famous Stuffing

Turkey stuffing, meet your match. Tori’s mom, Patsy, was (and still is) the stuffing queen and was responsible for teaching Jilly how to master this dish. Her version had breakfast sausage in it and no white wine or apple. This un-stuffed stuffing will win over everyone at the holiday table! It’s moist, packed with all of those familiar stuffing flavours (addictive, actually), and super simple to put together. Double this recipe and use the same pan if you are feeding a crowd.

Ingredients
1/2 cup (125 mL) vegan butter
1/4 cup (60 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups (500 mL) finely copped celery (3 to 4 stalks)
1-1/2 cups (375 mL) finely chopped yellow onions (1 medium onion)
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 pound (450 g) finely chopped white and/or brown mushrooms (about 4 cups or 1L)
2 tbsp (10 mL) chopped fresh sage
2 tsp (10 mL) fresh thyme leaves
1 Granny Smith apple, unpeeled and finely diced
1/4 cup (60 mL) white wine (we use chardonnay)
4 tsp (20 mL) poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
1/2 tsp (2 mL) pepper
1 to 1-1/2 cups (250 to 375 mL) vegetable stock
1 load day-old white bread, cut into roughly 1-inch (2.5 cm) cubes

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease a 10-inch (25-cm) round or 10½- × 7½-inch (2.3 L) rectangular baking dish.
2. Heat the vegan butter and olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the celery and onions and cook until soft and fragrant, 3 to
4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add the garlic, mushrooms, sage, and thyme and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are soft, 8 to 10 minutes.
4. Stir in the apple, white wine, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until the apple slightly softens. Add 1 cup (250 mL) of the vegetable stock, stir, and cook for another 3 minutes.
5. Place the bread cubes in a large bowl. Pour the mushroom mixture over the bread and lightly toss with a rubber spatula to combine. Drizzle with additional stock if you prefer a moister stuffing, and season with additional poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper, if desired.
6. Spread the stuffing evenly in the prepared baking dish and bake until heated through, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Serves 8

Excerpted from Fraiche Food, Full Hearts: A Collection of Recipes for Every Day and Casual Celebrations by Jillian Harris and Tori Wesszer. Copyright © 2019 by Jillian Harris and Tori Wesszer. Photography copyright © 2019 by Janis Nicolay. Published by Penguin Canada, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.