Recipe: French Apple-Walnut-Rosemary Stuffing with Apple Sausage and Parsnips

French Apple-Walnut-
Rosemary Stuffing
with Apple Sausage and Parsnips

14 Servings (About 18 cups)
by Kate Heyhoe

This elegant stuffing combines the best of French ingredients—croissants, French bread, leeks, walnuts, and rosemary—with layers of apple flavorings: fresh apples, applesauce for moistness, and chicken-apple sausage. Parsnips are optional but add a nutty taste of their own, and New England's dried cranberries provide bursts of tartness and specks of color. Get a jump on the recipe by toasting the walnuts a day or two beforehand, and tearing the bread the day before, toasting if necessary.

Ingredients:

1 pound sausages, preferably chicken-apple,
   diced and browned (use the same skillet
   for cooking the remaining stuffing ingredients)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
2 medium leeks, sliced
   (white and pale green parts only)
2 medium tart green apples
   (Granny Smith), peeled, cored, chopped
2 cups chopped celery with leaves
2 medium parsnips, peeled and
   diced into small pieces (optional)
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 cup dried cranberries (about 4 ounces) (optional)
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
12 ounces day-old bread, cut or torn into
   3/4-inch cubes (about 10 cups), preferably
   a mix of French bread and croissants
   (bread cubes should
   be slightly dry; if not, toast in
   350 degree oven about 15 minutes)
1/4 teaspoons salt or to taste
Fresh ground pepper to taste
1 cup walnut pieces, toasted
3 eggs
1-1/2 to 2 cups apple sauce

Method:

Melt butter over medium-high heat (preferably in same skillet used to cook sausages; set sausage pieces aside in large bowl).

Add leeks, apples, celery, parsnips, poultry seasoning and nutmeg to skillet; sauté until leeks soften and parsnips cook through, about 8 minutes. Pour into bowl with sausage, then mix in rosemary, cranberries, parsley, and bread. Season stuffing to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Beat eggs with 1-1/2 cups applesauce. Toss stuffing with applesauce-egg mixture and walnuts. Stuffing should be moist but not wet; if dry, add more applesauce. Check for seasonings and adjust accordingly. Note: to check for seasonings, brown a large spoonful of stuffing in a skillet or heat in a microwave until cooked through.

To cook stuffing with turkey: Fill turkey cavity with stuffing. Spoon remaining stuffing into buttered baking dish. Bake, covered with buttered foil, alongside turkey until heated through, about 45 to 60 minutes. Uncover stuffing and bake until golden brown on top, about 15 minutes.

To bake in pan only:
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 15x10x2-inch or similar-sized baking dish. Cover with buttered foil and bake until heated through, about 45 to 60 minutes. Remove cover and bake until golden brown on top, about 15 minutes.