Monniblog

This weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving, so I thought I’d share one of the recipes that has been a hit with our family. Being a vegetarian, I kinda throw things for a loop, so I found this amazing vegan stuffing that’s made in a pan. Even my meat-eating cousins loved it. I originally found it at SavvyVegetarian but I’d modified it a bit and put my changes below.

Makes 8 – 12 Servings

Takes about 1 hour, if everything is ready. Or less time if you prep some of the elements beforehand. I’ve noted below where I can stop or prep ahead. For a Sunday dinner, I will often make the bread cubes on Friday, the sautéd vegetable mixture on Saturday, and then combine and cook the dressing on Sunday before going over to my cousin’s house for dinner.

Ingredients:

• 10 cups, ½–inch bread cubes, from 1 loaf. I usually select whatever is cheap and whole wheat and already cut into slices.
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 cloves minced fresh garlic
• 1 cup  onion, finely chopped (1 medium yellow onion)
• 1½ cups celery, diced (3–4 stalks)
• 1½ cups fresh mushrooms, sliced (~6 white bulk mushrooms)
• 2 tsp dried rubbed sage leaf
• 1 tsp dried thyme leaf
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 2-3 cups vegetable stock & ½ cup extra. (original recipe says you could also use 3 cups of water + 2 veggie bouillon cubes, but I’ve never tried this method).

Preparing the Bread Cubes

First, cut the bread up into cubes. I usually make 4×4 cuts, resulting in 16 cubes per slice of bread.

Method 1: My preferred method. A day or two before I plan to make the stuffing, I lay the cubed bread flat, single-layer, on cookie sheets to dry out. I find the cubes go sufficiently stale as long as I turn them once a day.

Directions

1. Set oven to 350ºF
2. Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Sauté onions, garlic, and celery until soft
3. Add sage, thyme, rosemary, and pepper, stir to mix.
   [Note: If I am pre-prepping the stuffing, this is where I stop until the day of the meal. I do not mix the veggies and bread until I am going to put them in the oven.]
4. Put the veggie mixture on the bowl of bread cubes
5. Stir until until everything is well mixed
   [This is difficult and sometimes I just say, good enough, and add some moisture]
6. Add 2-3 cups vegetable stock, and mix until it is absorbed. Add more stock as needed so that the mixture is moist and clumping together, but not soggy
   [I tend to use my hands to mix like I’m kneading dough]
7. Bake in a covered shallow casserole or baking dish for 25 minutes
   [It is at this point that I usually pack up the stuffing for transport to our family thanksgiving. I also bring some extra stock to add, approximately ½ cup, in case it’s dried out too much.]
8. Uncover and bake another 15 minutes to form a crusty top (or to reheat to serve)