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Savory Cornbread Dressing
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11 to 13 cups dressing, enough to stuff a large pumpkin
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| I prefer a not-too-sweet cornbread which uses both flour and cornmeal for this
recipe, such as the
Skillet-Sizzled Buttermilk Cornbread. I am honor-bound to say that many opt for the plainest of cornmeal-only
cornbreads for their dressing --- and such dressings are mighty pleasing too. In
this latter category, try
Ronni Lundy’s, page 452-453,
PASSIONATE VEGETARIAN.
Although this dressing is definitely savory, I am so
fond of dried fruit in dressings that I just couldn’t resist adding a little
even here… but go ahead and omit it if you don’t care for it. |
| In my view, a stuffing of this type just isn’t tasty if
you do it ultra low-fat, so my advice is
--- don’t even try. And also, like all dressings
it is an accompaniment, designed to be served with a main dish and some sort of
gravy. Vegetarians can think outside the bird by baking it in a pumpkin and
serving it with lentil croquettes or breaded, oven-crisped tempeh or tofu (many
recipes for which are you-know-where) and a wonderful mushroom sauce (ditto). |
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Ingredients: |
| Vegetable cooking oil spray |
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| 11-12 cups leftover coarsely crumbled cornbread (roughly 2 skillets worth) |
| About 13 ounces any good
vegetarian soysage, such as Gimme Lean Sausage Style |
| Light Life Breakfast Links
or Boca Breakfast Patties |
| 2 tablespoons mild vegetable oil |
| 1 large onion, chopped |
| 2 to 3 ribs celery, split lengthwise twice, then chopped, leaves included |
| 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped |
| 1 tablespoon dried leaf sage (not ground), crumbled between the palms, more to
taste |
| 2 teaspoons dried leaf thyme, crumbled between the palms, more to taste |
| ½ bunch Italian parsley, leaves only, finely chopped |
| 1 cup dried cherries, raisins, or cranberries, optional |
| Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste |
| 2 to 2 ½ cups vegetable stock |
| ¼ cup butter or Better, divided |
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1.
Preheat oven to 400 for 20 minutes. Then turn down heat to 300. Spray a
cookie sheet with edges or a jelly roll pan with vegetable oil.
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| 2.
Spread crumbled cornbread in a single layer on the baking pan. You will
have to do several batches. Checking every 10 minutes or so and shaking pans to
redistribute crumbs, bake cornbread crumbs until they are quite dry, but not
browned, about 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer dry cornbread to a large bowl.
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3.
As cornbread bakes, prepare soysage. In two batches, starting in a
preheated pan, sauté veggie sausage over medium heat, according to package
directions, using the oil, and keeping any leftover fat in the pan. Dice the
cooked soysage as necessary into bite-size pieces, and add them, along with the
cooking oil, to the cornbread in the bowl. |
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Add the following to the cornbread-soysage bowl: the onion, celery,
garlic, sage, thyme, Italian parsley, dried fruit, salt and freshly ground black
pepper. |
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5.
In a small saucepan, heat together 2 cups of the stock and the remaining
butter or Better. When the latter melts, pour the liquid over the crumbs
mixture, and toss well, using your hands. Taste, if you like add the extra ½ cup
stock, and adjust seasonings. Use to stuff your vegetable of choice, according
to your pumpkin or other stuffed-vegetable recipe. Or bake as is as an
accompaniment.
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| 6.
To do the latter, place it in a deep oil-sprayed baking dish with a four
quart capacity. Dot the top with the reserved tablespoon of butter, and bake at
325, tightly covered, for 1 hour. Uncover, raise heat to 375, and bake another
10 minutes. |
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