I am so excited about sharing this recipe with you today for Mary Berry's Sage & Onion Stuffing. I don't know about you, but the stuffing is my favorite part of any holiday meal. I could eat just a plate of stuffing and nothing else.
I had always made my mother's stuffing and loved it, but I discovered Mary Berry's stuffing a few years ago and fell in love with it. I have been making it Mary's way ever since!
Mary Berry is not only an expert baker, as her reputation from the GBBO suggests. She is also an expert in all types of cooking. I trust her recipes implicitly. They are impeccable.
I don't know about you, but I miss her on the GBBO. In my opinion, although it is still a good show, it just has not been the same without her on it. She was the best.
One reason I have fallen in love with this stuffing is because of the simplicity of its preparation. It takes relatively few ingredients and goes together very quickly.
Simple ingredients put together in an incredibly delicious way, but then again, you would expect nothing less from Mary Berry. Just the name implies perfection.
For this you will need to peel and chop some onions. Two pounds to be exact, which may sound like a lot, but trust me, this is the perfect amount. These are covered with cold water and brought to the boil.
You then simmer them for about 15 minutes, until they are meltingly soft. You will need to drain them at that point. Make sure you drain them really well so that you don't end up with soggy stuffing.
Stuffing should be moist, but never soggy. Soggy is a big no, no. I return the well drained onions to the saucepan and then I add the butter, melting it into the onions. Perfection . . .
I make my own soft light bread crumbs. You can remove the crusts if you want, but I never do. I have never minded the crusts. I make them into crumbs in my small food processor, crumbing about 2 slices at a time.
Other than that all you need is some fresh sage, salt and pepper. Simple. You can use dried sage if you want to. I have had to before. Dried sage works very well actually. Just use half the amount as fresh.
I always taste and then season or add sage according to my taste. Sometimes it will need more. I am not sure why that is.
Most of the time I cook my stuffing in a buttered casserole dish rather than inside the bird. I have read that it is safer to do that. But in all honesty that is not why I choose to do this.
I like the crispy edges that the stuffing gets when you bake it in a casserole dish. It gets a buttery crispness on the bottom and on the top.
I like to stir this buttery crunch through the finished stuffing when it is done. But you can do whatever you wish. I just like the buttery crispy bits to be everywhere!
I am a nut for buttery and crisp. Sometimes I do bow to my mother's stuffing and stir some mashed potatoes into the bread crumbs prior to baking. This is a very New Germany, Nova Scotia thing.
On this particular day I didn't, but I can assure you it is very delicious with potato in it as well, although it is not as dry. It will be much moister. And heavier.
I suppose they started doing that to help to extend the amount of stuffing and then enjoyed it so much that they just kept doing it.
I have never met a stuffing I did not like. When I worked at the manor I used to have to make a cornbread and sausage stuffing, which was what they preferred as a family. I suppose it is very much a traditional/regional thing.
Although it was still quite good, I preferred the sage and onion simple bread stuffing. It is what I grew up with and it is the flavor I think goes the best with a roasted bird. Its that simple.
In any case I hope you will try this sage and onion stuffing this year! I think you will agree, it is phenomenal. You just cannot go wrong with a Mary Berry recipe. You realy can't!
Mary Berry's Sage & Onion Stuffing
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Ingredients
- 1 pound (450g) onions, peeled and chopped
- 1 1/3 cups (300ml) water
- 1/3 cup (75g) butter melted (plus more to butter the baking dish)
- 1 TBS chopped fresh sage leaves
- 1/2 pound/8 slices (225g) fresh soft white bread crumbs
- salt and black pepper to taste
- butter to dot over the top of the dish
Instructions
- Place the chopped onion into a saucepan. Cover with the cold water. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. Drain very well.
- Return the ovens to the saucepan. Stir in the butter and the remaining ingredients, tossing to combine and seasoning to taste.
- Allow to cool completely if you are using it to stuff a bird. If you are cooking it separately. Place into a buttered dish. Dot butter over the top.
- Cover and bake in a 180*C/350*F/gas mark 4 oven for 25 to 30 minutes.
- Uncover and bake for a further 10 minutes to crisp up the top if desired.
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So what is your favorite way to stuff a bird? Do you cook your stuffing inside or on the outside of the bird? Why is this your choice? I really want to know!
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