Wheatberry Stuffing With Apricots Recipes

HERB STUFFING WITH DRIED FRUIT

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a shallow 3-quart baking dish. Cut or tear the bread into bite-size pieces. Divide between 2 rimmed baking sheets and spread into a single layer. Bake until slightly dry and crisp, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool completely.
• Meanwhile, melt 6 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the dried fruit, sage, thyme, apple, onion, celery, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the broth and parsley and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and pour into a large bowl.
• Add the toasted bread to the onion mixture and toss until evenly moistened. Stir in the egg. Transfer to the prepared baking dish and evenly spread without packing the stuffing down too much. Bake until the top is crusty, about 40 minutes. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and drizzle over the top. Continue to bake until the top is crisp and golden, about 20 minutes more. Garnish with parsley and thyme.

NEO-CLASSICAL THANKSGIVING DRESSING WITH APRICOTS AND PRUNES, STUFFED IN A WHOLE PUMPKIN

Steps:

• Cut off and reserve a lid, as you would preparatory to carving a jack-o'-lantern. Scoop out all of the seeds and fibers. Put an inch or two of water in a large pot. Place the pumpkin, cut side down, in the water, cap wedged in near it. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover tightly and team for 10 to 15 minutes to precook slightly. Remove the pot from the heat and let cool. When cool, remove from the pot. Since the pumpkin will be eaten with the stuffing, I like to season the inside with salt, pepper, a little tamari, Pickapeppa, and brown sugar, rubbing this into the exposed interior flesh after steaming.
• 1. Place the apricots and prunes in a small, heatproof bowl. Place the apple juice in a small saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Immediately pour the juice over the dried fruit. Let stand for at least 2 hours, but overnight or a day or two in advance is fine. Drain the dried fruit, reserving both the fruit and the soaking liquid. Coarsely chop the fruit and set aside.
• 2. Preheat the oven to 375°F, then turn down to 200°F.
• 3. Set a wire rack on a baking sheet and place a single layer of bread slices on the rack. Place in the preheated oven and bake, slowly, turning once, until the bread is hard, crunchy, and dry all the way through, but not browned. This is a fairly slow process - it might take 45 to 60 minutes, but set the timer at 20-minute intervals to remind you to check. You with either need to do 2 sheets' worth of bread (in which case, reverse their positions in the oven halfway through), or repeat the toasting process again until all bread is prepared. Remove the dry bread from the oven and let cool.
• 4. Coarsely crumble the bread into a large bowl. Add the onion and leafy celery and toss to combine. Measure the sage (starting with the smaller amount) into your hands and rub the leaves back and forth in your palms until they crumble (this releases the volatile essential oils). Add the sage to the bread mixture. Pour the melted butter over the mixture and toss well to combine. Add the soaked dried fruit and toss again. The dressing should still be dry. Begin adding the liquid, a combination of vegetable stock and the reserved fruit soaking liquid. Use more stock than juice, and use just enough to moisten the dressing without making it soggy. Keep tossing, adding stock as needed. Add tamari, starting with about 1 tablespoon. Taste for salt and add it and plenty of pepper to taste. More sage, maybe? This is also the point at which you can add a little dried basil and oregano, too, if you like. The stuffing can be prepared up to this point and stored, covered and refrigerated, overnight.
• 5. On the day you plan to stuff the pumpkin, preheat the oven to 375°F.
• 6. If not using nonstick, spray a baking dish large enough to accommodate the pumpkin with cooking spray.
• 7. Stuff the dressing into the cavity of the prepared pumpkin, topping with the pumpkin's cap. Place the stuffed pumpkin in the prepared baking dish. Place in the preheated oven and bake until the pumpkin is slightly brown and looks a bit collapsed in on itself, or, as Ned says, like a plump European duchess, about 40 minutes. Serve whole, at the table.

APPLE & APRICOT STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Place bread cubes on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 18-20 minutes or until toasted. Cool on baking sheets., In a Dutch oven, heat butter over medium-high heat. Add celery and onion; cook and stir until tender. Add apples, apricots, parsley and bread cubes. Stir in broth and melted butter. Transfer to a greased 13x9-in. baking dish., Bake, covered, 35 minutes. Uncover; bake 10-15 minutes longer or until lightly browned.

WHEATBERRY SALAD

Steps:

• Place the wheatberries and 3 cups of boiling salted water in a saucepan and cook, uncovered, over low heat for approximately 45 minutes, or until they are soft. Drain.
• Saute the red onion in 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-low heat until translucent, approximately 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the remaining 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) of olive oil and the balsamic vinegar.
• In a large bowl, combine the warm wheatberries, sauteed onions, scallions, red bell pepper, carrot, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the pepper. Allow the salad to sit for at least 30 minutes for the wheatberries to absorb the sauce. Season, to taste, and serve at room temperature.

APRICOT & PISTACHIO STUFFING

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Heat the oil and 40g of the butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onions and fry for 15-20 mins or until they are golden and caramelised. Add the garlic and cook for 1 min. Remove from the heat, tip into a large mixing bowl and leave to cool down a little.
• Put half the sourdough into a food processor and blitz to a fine crumb. Tear the remaining bread into small pieces. Add both to the bowl with the onions and mix through 60g pistachios, the chopped sage, apricots and eggs, then season. Tip into a shallow 30 x 20cm baking dish. Will keep in the fridge for up to 24 hrs. Bake for 20 mins or until golden brown and crunchy on top (check after 10 mins and cover if it's already brown).
• Melt the remaining butter in a frying pan, add the sage leaves and fry until crisp. Pour over the stuffing just before serving. Top with the remaining pistachios.

WINTER FRUIT AND NUT STUFFING

Steps:

• Melt 2 tablespoons butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pears; sprinkle with sugar. Sauté until pears are golden, about 5 minutes. Transfer to very large bowl; mix in cinnamon. Melt remaining 10 tablespoons butter in same skillet over medium heat. Add onions and celery; sauté until golden, about 15 minutes. Add wine and next 5 ingredients. Simmer until liquid is reduced almost to glaze and mixture is soft and moist, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Mix into pears. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Reheat to lukewarm before continuing.)
• Mix bread and pecans into fruit mixture. Season stuffing with salt and pepper.
• To bake stuffing in turkey:
• Loosely fill main cavity and neck cavity of turkey with stuffing. Generously butter baking dish. Spoon remaining stuffing into prepared dish. Cover dish with buttered foil, buttered side down. Bake stuffing in dish - alongside turkey or while turkey is resting - until heated through, about 25 minutes. Uncover stuffing in dish. Bake until top of stuffing is slightly crisp and golden, about 15 minutes longer.
• To bake stuffing in dish:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Transfer stuffing to prepared dish. Bake uncovered until heated through, about 35 minutes.

WHEAT-BERRY STUFFING WITH PEARL ONIONS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut bread into 1/2-inch pieces and in a large shallow baking pan toast in one layer in middle of oven until just dry, about 15 minutes. Croutons may be made 1 day ahead and kept, covered, at room temperature.
• In a 4-quart kettle three fourths full of boiling water (do not salt water) cook wheat berries, uncovered, until tender, about 1 hour, and drain in a large sieve. Transfer wheat berries to a large shallow baking dish.
• While wheat berries are cooking, in a large saucepan of boiling water blanch onions 3 minutes. Drain onions and when cool enough to handle, peel. In a large skillet melt butter over moderately high heat and sauté onions, stirring occasionally, until golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Chop parsley and add with onions to wheat berries. Wheat-berry mixture may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring mixture to room temperature before proceeding.
• Add croutons and broth to wheat-berry mixture and toss to combine well. Bake stuffing in middle of oven, uncovered, 30 minutes, or until top is slightly crisp.

WHEATBERRY SALAD WITH BEETS, APRICOTS AND WALNUTS

Steps:

• Combine the apricots and apple cider in a small bowl. Soak until plumped, about 1 hour. Drain, chop finely and set aside.
• Make a vinaigrette by combining the lemon juice, orange juice, orange rind and Pernod in a large glass or ceramic bowl. Season with the salt and pepper. Set aside.
• Combine the wheatberries and chicken broth in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until partially cooked, about 15 minutes. Drain. Add to the vinaigrette. Toss. Set aside.
• Combine the beets and 3 cups of cold water in a saucepan. Simmer over medium heat until tender, but not soft, about 20 minutes. Drain. Rinse under cold running water until cool. Peel. Cut into 1/2-inch dice. Add to the salad and toss. Add the apricots, walnuts and parsley and toss. Drizzle with walnut oil. Toss again. Season with salt and pepper. Divide among 4 plates and serve.

APRICOT & HAZELNUT STUFFING

Steps:

• Fry onions in the butter. Stir in nuts; fry until golden. Remove from the heat, add apricots, breadcrumbs, parsley and lemon zest. Mix in the egg and season. Use half to stuff the neck end of the turkey; shape the rest into balls.
• Put the balls in a buttered baking dish, then drizzle with oil. Bake for 30 mins until golden, or roast them around the turkey.

APRICOT RICE STUFFING

Steps:

• In a large skillet, saute onion and celery in butter until tender. Stir in the rice, apricots, parsley and seasonings. Transfer to a greased 1-qt. baking dish. Cover and bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Uncover; bake 5-10 minutes longer or until heated through.

WHEATBERRY STUFFING WITH APRICOTS

Steps:

• Preaheat oven to 350 F. In 4-quart saucepan, heat wheatberries and 6 cups water to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 1 hour or until wheatberries are firm to the bite, but tender enough to eat. Drian and set aside. Prepare rice in 5-6 quart saucepot as label direct. Cover and set aside. In same saucepot, heat oil. Add onion and jalapeno, cook 5-7 minutes, add carrots, celery and cook 15 minutes or until tender. Add orange peel and allspice, cook 2 minutes. Add apricots, broth, salt and water, heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low, simmer uncovered 5 minutes to blend flavors. Add wheatberries, rice and cilantro to vegetable mixture, stirring to combine. Put this mixture into 13" by 9" baking dish. Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes or until heated through.