Just a short blog whānau. And a competition and a chance to talk about stuffing.
At stake is some NAIA merchandise. Just send your best stuffing recipe, and preferably a photo, to mark@naia.co.nz and I will announce a winner.
It was going to be a contest for the best boil up recipe, but someone far wiser than me talked me into stuffing instead. Round here we tend to stuff things like chicken and pork while vegetarians stuff things like capsicums and mushrooms. In the United States especially, people make stuffing in separate dishes, usually in a casserole dish, which technically makes it a dressing although it can help avoid salmonella.
Some say stuffing a bird can mean an unevenly cooked roast. This is one reason why people assemble stuffing, or dressing, in another dish. Another way to cook the stuffing is in balls around the roast.
According to Wikipedia, stuffing is an edible mixture often composed of herbs and a starch such as bread, used to fill a cavity in the preparation of another food item. That sounds like an adequate, if a little dry, description.
Many foods may be stuffed, including poultry, seafood, and vegetables. As a cooking technique, stuffing can help retain moisture, while the mixture itself serves to augment and absorb flavours during its preparation.
Many people prefer roughly torn breadcrumbs for their texture and appearance while a food processor or blender makes light of the job. A classic stuffing for roast chicken is sage and onion and it can be added to or changed according to what’s on hand. You can switch the herbs and add dried fruit, like apricots or cranberries or chopped nuts like walnuts or pine nuts. Use whatever you prefer because there are supposedly no rules.
My favourite stuffing includes chorizo. Mix everything together, by hand or in a food processor, add an egg if you prefer your stuffing to be ‘bound’ or moister. Nigel Slater likes to use sausage meat.
Others use rice or another grain instead of bread. I guess it depends on where you were brought up and what you were taught. My point is that a succulent stuffing of some description can add another dimension to whatever you are roasting, so go for it.
Don’t use a packet; make it yourself.
Nā Mark Revington
