Parsley Sage Rosemary and Thyme Stuffing
This oven baked stuffing recipe goes well with roast chicken. Cook it in the oven alongside your chicken and you have the perfect companion for a fall or winter meal.
Pointe-du-Moulin, Ile Perrot, Quebec
This past fall, I visited the early 18th century windmill at Pointe du Moulin just west of Montreal and it made me appreciate how our ancestors worked so hard to harvest crops, mill their grain and eventually turn it into the staple of western culture, bread.
In this day in age, we are far removed from this labor intensive process. Our abundance has lead to a high rate of food waste and habits like tossing out produce or even bread crusts since they just aren’t pretty. Why not do your pocket book and the planet a favour and cut that bruise off your otherwise perfectly good fruits or vegetables and save some of those bread crusts, to turn into this wonderful herb infused side dish.
If there was ever a time for those mystical herbs that any baby boomer can rhyme off thanks to Simon & Garfunkel’s “Scarborough Fair” it is this recipe. I’ve always wondered about the significance of those herbs and it just so happens that McGill University has published this article: The Mystique of Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme by Joe Schwarcz PhD. Research reveals that those symbolic herbs played a big part of well being centuries ago back when windmills produced flour.
- 6 slices, bread crusts, cut into small cubes
- 2 cups instant mashed potatoes
- ½ cup diced red pepper
- 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
- ½ cup chopped parsley, stems removed
- ½ tsp sage
- 1 tsp rosemary
- ½ tsp thyme
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- ½ cup vegetable* or chicken stock
- ¼ cup olive oil
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Mix ingredients and place in a greased 9" x 9" pan
- Bake covered for 45 minutes
- Remove cover and bake 15 minutes more to crispen the top
- Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes before serving
- * This recipe makes a great vegan side dish, especially at Thanksgiving or Christmas, if you choose the vegetable stock. If you are not cooking it alongside a roast, you can increase the oven temperature to 375°F, cook for 35 minutes, cover, then cook uncovered at 400°F for the last 10 minutes.
