Italian Chard Stuffing

This has been my go-to Thanksgiving stuffing recipe for about 12 years now – ripping it out of an issue of Sunset magazine back in the day. With its chunks of french bread, juicy sauted italian sausage, fresh swiss chard, plus the usual ingredients you find in stuffing, this is and will be my favorite in years to come.

Serves 16 (in a normal family, not mine) Time – about 90 minutes

• 3/4 loaf (3/4 lb) French bread
• 1 1/2 cups nonfat or skim milk
• 2 lbs Italian sausages
• 1 cup chopped parsley
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
• 1 1/2 lbs chopped Swiss chard, stems chopped separately
• 1 1/2 cups freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp dried rubbed sage (or 1 tsp dried fresh sage, crushed)
• 1/2 tsp dried rosemary (or 1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped finely)
• Salt

1. Cut bread into 1/2 in slices. Place slices in a large bowl and add milk. Mix gently with a spoon to saturate with milk and let stand about 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.
2. Meanwhile, place a large pot over high-ish heat. Squeeze sausages from casings into pot. Discard casings. Cook meat, stirring often to crumble, until lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes.; discard fat. Add parsley, garlic, onion and celery. Cook, stirring often, until vegetables are lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Add chard stems first, then chopped chard and 1/2 cup water and cook, stirring often, until wilted, about 5 minutes.
3. With your hands, squeeze bread slices to break them into tiny pieces. Add cooked meat mixture, parmesan, basil, sage and rosemary. Season with salt to taste – the parmesan add a lot of salt so watch your salt here.
4. Preheat oven to 325 degrees or 350 degrees (if cooking turkey at the same time). Spoon stuffing into a shallow 3 qt (9×13) casserole. For moist stuffing, cover with foil; for crusty stuffing, do not cover. Bake until hot (at least 150 degrees in center) or lightly browned; at least 30 minutes
5. You can freeze the unbaked dish for a couple of days prior to the day you need it. Be sure to thaw before baking like above.

This recipe is from Sunset Magazine – November 2008