Ingredients
Scale
- 50g butter, 30g for sautéing + 20 g to butter the pan
- 1 leek, finely sliced
- 120g streaky bacon, cut into rough 2cm squares
- 2 pork sausages, skins removed
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 2 x 10cm sprigs fresh thyme leaves, stalks removed
- 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and coarsely grated
- 1/3c heavy cream, thickened cream in Australia
- 1/3c chicken stock
- 1/2c Irish cider, I use Magners Irish Cider
- 1 egg, 60-70g
- 1 tbsp sea salt flakes
- A good grind of freshly ground black pepper
- 350g sourdough bread, roughly cut into 2cm cubes
- 80g walnuts, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C fan-forced.
- Melt 30g of the butter in a 26cm enamelled cast iron braiser or shallow casserole over low to medium heat. Add the sliced leek and sauté for about 5 minutes, until softened.
- Add the bacon and cook for a couple of minutes. Crumble the pork sausages into the pan and lightly brown, breaking up the sausage meat with a spatula as it cooks.
- Reduce the heat to low. Add the crushed garlic and thyme leaves, then sauté gently for 1 minute, until fragrant. Stir in the grated apple and cook gently for 2 minutes, scraping up any cooked-on bits from the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat. Pop the mixture into a bowl and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the cream, chicken stock, apple cider and egg. Add the sea salt flakes and a good grind of freshly ground black pepper. Add the sourdough cubes and stir to coat them in the liquid.
- Add the chopped walnuts and the apple and sausage mixture, including any pan juices to the sourdough. Stir to combine, then leave for 10 minutes to allow the bread to absorb the liquid.
- Grease the emptied braiser with the remaining 20g butter. Spoon the stuffing mixture into the pan and spread it evenly.
- Cover with the lid and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for a further 30 minutes, or until golden and crisp on top and set in the centre.
- Remove from the oven and serve with your favourite roast dinner!
Notes
- Use sourdough that’s 1–2 days old.
- The cider used here is alcoholic Irish apple cider, known as hard cider in the US.
- This recipe was prepped and cooked in a 26cm enamel cast iron braiser (shallow casserole).
- Please note all recipes on this website are in US measurements. Eg, 1 cup / 240ml, 1 tablespoon/15mls. Oven temperatures refer to a fan-forced oven.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Baking