Keep those claggy sage and onion stuffing balls at bay with one of these four brilliant recipes from top chefs, all of which can be made in advance and kept in the freezer to tick one more thing off your festive food list
PHOTOGRAPHS GARETH MORGANS FOOD STYLING POLLYANNA COUPLAND STYLING SARAH BIRKS
Moorish-style stuffing
Serves 8-10 Hands-on time 20 min, plus chilling Oven time 25-27 min
MAKE AHEAD Make the stuffing up to the end of step 4, then cover and freeze for up to 1 month. Defrost in the fridge before putting it in the oven.
• 100ml whole milk
• 1 slice sourdough bread,
ideally stale, crusts removed
• 100ml extra-virgin olive oil,
plus extra to fry and grease
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp coriander seeds, crushed
• 100g cooked wild rice
• 100g ground almonds
• Finely grated zest 1 orange
• Finely grated zest 1 lemon
• 30g chopped almonds, plus
extra to decorate (optional)
• 70g medjool dates, stoned and
chopped, plus extra to decorate
(optional)
• Handful flatleaf parsley,
chopped
• Handful oregano, chopped
• 1 tbsp sherry vinegar
1 Pour the milk into a shallow dish. Roughly tear the slice of bread into small chunks and mix them with the milk so they soak it up. Set aside.
2 Heat a deep medium frying pan over a low heat and add a generous glug of oil. Once hot, add the onion and cook for 6-8 minutes until almost softened but not coloured. Add the coriander seeds, cook for a further minute, then tip in the rice. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper, stirring to coat the rice with the oil, then cook for an extra minute or so to lightly toast the rice. Transfer to a mixing bowl.
3 Squeeze the soaked bread to drain, then add it to the mixture along with the ground almonds. Mix well, adding just a splash of the leftover milk if the mixture appears too dry. Add the orange and lemon zest, chopped almonds, dates, herbs, 100ml oil and vinegar. Season.
4 Roll the stuffing into plum-size balls, then decorate each one with extra dates and/or almonds, if you like. Put the balls in a container, cover and chill for at least 2 hours (see Make Ahead).
5 Heat the oven to 160°C fan/gas 4. Drizzle a baking tray with olive oil and put the stuffing balls onto it, drizzling the tops with a little extra oil and sprinkling with salt. Bake for 20 minutes, then turn up the oven to 180°C fan/gas 6 and cook for another 5-7 minutes until golden brown on top.
Per serving (for 10) 228kcals, 17.4g fat (2.2g saturated), 5g protein, 11.9g carbs (5.8g sugars), 0.1g salt, 1.7g fibre →
