Wild Mushroom Stuffing with Hazelnuts and Sage is a substantial side dish made with crusty artisan bread, earthy mushrooms, and crunchy hazelnuts.
– 1 lb artisan bread, white or sourdough – 1 ounce dried wild mushroom – 2 cups chicken broth, or stock, divided – 1 lb mixed fresh mushrooms, such as shitake, oyster, and Baby Bella – 10 Tbsp butter, divided – 2 shallots, peeled and minced – 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced – 1 Tbsp dry sherry, (drinking sherry, not cooking wine) – 1/2 cup roughly chopped hazelnut – 4 stalks celery, inner stalks with leaves, thinly sliced – salt and cracked black pepper, to taste – 1/2 tsp poultry seasoning – 1/2 cup shredded smoked cheddar cheese, or Gruyere or Parmesan – 3 large eggs – 2 Tbsp chopped or shredded sage leave
HEAT oven to 350°F. Prep a 9x13 casserole. mushroom filling on artisan bread on a board Cut the bread into roughly 1-inch cubes. Keep the crust.
Cubed bread in a wooden bowl Place the cubed bread in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes until dry.
baking sheet-toasted cubed bread While heating, mix dried mushrooms into a cup of chicken stock. Rest 30 minutes. Drain and reserve the stock after soaking.
Remove contaminants and reserve stock by straining. Chop mushrooms if necessary. chicken stock-soaking dried mushrooms Trim and slice fresh mushrooms.
In two batches, dry sauté them in a skillet over medium-high heat. Stir mushrooms occasionally as they dry out.
sautéing fresh mushrooms Continue cooking until mushrooms are golden brown. Reserve on a plate. Pan-browned mushrooms
Sauté shallots and garlic in 4 tablespoons of butter in the same pan for two minutes until softened. Remove any browned bits from the pan.
sautéing shallots and garlic in skillet Add chopped hazelnuts and sauté another minute or two. Stir the sherry into the pan and let it bubble for a minute.
Now scrape up any residual browning from the pan. Adding chopped hazelnuts to shallots and garlic Remove from fire and add celery, 1 tsp salt and pepper, and chicken seasoning.
mushroom filling with celery and mushrooms in pan Mix the toasted bread, mushroom mixture, soaking dried mushrooms, cheese, and sage in the largest bowl.
Make sure everything is mixed. stirring mushroom mixture into toasted bread Whisk the eggs and stock (include mushroom soaking stock) and add to the bowl, mixing well.
Basin mix. Three-tbsp butter skillet stuffing. 35-40 foil-covered minutes. Add melted butter.butter-stuffed mushrooms Uncover 15-20 minutes until golden.