Chestnut and Saucisson Stuffing

Chestnut and Saucisson Stuffing

Recipes with Saucisson Sec de l'Ardèche

The Ardèche grows more chestnuts than any other department in France. This stuffing combines two local staples: roasted chestnuts and saucisson sec, bound with bread, eggs, and herbs. Use it to fill a roast chicken or guinea fowl, or bake it in a dish on its own. The chestnuts turn creamy, the saucisson adds salt and fat, and the whole thing smells like an Ardèche farmhouse kitchen in November.

Prep Time

20 min

Cook Time

40 min

Servings

6

Difficulty

Medium

Ingredients

  • 200g saucisson sec de l'Ardèche, peeled and diced into 5mm cubes
  • 300g cooked chestnuts (vacuum-packed or roasted and peeled)
  • 150g stale country bread, torn into small pieces
  • 100ml warm milk
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1 onion, finely diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
  • 1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley, chopped
  • Salt and black pepper

Steps

1

Soak the bread pieces in warm milk for 5 minutes. Squeeze out the excess milk and set the bread aside.

2

Melt the butter in a pan. Cook the onion on medium heat for 5 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and cook 1 more minute.

3

Roughly chop the chestnuts, keeping some pieces large for texture. Combine in a bowl with the soaked bread, saucisson cubes, cooked onion and garlic, beaten eggs, thyme, and parsley. Mix with your hands. Season with pepper; go light on salt because the saucisson carries enough.

4

Use as stuffing for poultry, or press into a buttered baking dish. If baking alone, cover with foil and bake at 180°C for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and bake 10 more minutes until golden on top.

Tips

The stuffing benefits from being made a few hours ahead. The flavors merge as it sits in the fridge. If baking inside a bird, pack it loose rather than tight, because the bread and eggs expand during cooking. Leftover stuffing reheats well in a pan with a splash of chicken stock.