A hearty, chewy, moist but also a little crispy, sweet and flavorful Pear, Sage and Sausage Stuffing/dressing, PERFECT for Thanksgiving, Christmas or any roast dinner!
2leeks (not the dark green leaves)sliced, washed and drained
5garlic clovesminced
3/4cupgood quality chicken stockyou may need more depending on how much your bread would require in order to soften
Ground black pepper
Instructions
Toasting Bread
Cut the 14 oz bread loaf (French or Italian bread) into big cubes (about 1.5 inch each). Place these cubes on a baking tray and drizzle them with some oil and salt and bake in the oven until they are dry and turn light golden - time depends on the loaf of bread, mine took about 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Stuffing
Preheat oven to 300°F.
Saute the onions and garlic with 2 tablespoons of butter or oil in a large pan. When the onion turns translucent, add the pork sausage meat and break it into chunky pieces. Saute and mix for a few seconds and then add the sage and leeks. Cook until the leeks soften.
Add the pears, salt and black pepper to taste and mix well. Remove from the heat, as you don’t want the pears to soften too much.
Add the bread cubes and parsley, and toss to combine with the rest of the stuffing. Pour the chicken stock over the bread until most of the bread cubes have softened (but not soggy).
Butter a baking dish, and transfer the stuffing mix to the dish. Bake for about 40 minutes. First 20 minutes covered with foil, last 20 minutes uncovered.
Serve with Roast Turkey or Chicken and with some extra parsley and sage sprinkled on top.