Chestnut and pork herb stuffing recipe

By delicious. team

Serves 8
Takes 20 minutes to make, 20 minutes to cook, plus chilling
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Rating

This herby, meaty, nutty stuffing is about as divine as stuffing gets.

Ingredients

450g sausagemeat
300g pork mince
25g unsalted butter
2 tbsp olive oil
150g peeled cooked chestnuts, roughly chopped
Good grating of fresh nutmeg
100g fresh white breadcrumbs
Large handful of fresh flatleaf parsley, chopped
Small handful of fresh sage leaves, chopped, plus 8 extra leaves
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 large free-range egg, beaten
8 pancetta rashers

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan160°C/gas 4. Mix the sausagemeat and pork mince in a large bowl and set aside.
2. Heat the butter and oil in a frying pan, add the chestnuts and fry for 2-3 minutes. Grate in the nutmeg. Cool a little, then add to the pork.
3. Add the breadcrumbs, herbs, garlic and egg to the bowl and season. Mix with your hands until fully combined. Use a quarter of the stuffing to fill the neck cavity of the turkey, then press the remainder into a 1kg loaf tin lined with cling film or shape by hand into a rectangle (about 8cm x 16cm x 5cm deep).
4. Chill for 10-15 minutes, then turn out and cut into 8 rectangles. Put a sage leaf on top of each, then wrap snugly in a piece of pancetta. When you’re ready to serve, place on a non-stick baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes until the parcels are cooked and the pancetta is golden.

Chef's tip

Open-freeze the shaped, uncooked stuffing (without the sage) on a baking sheet until solid. Put in a container and freeze for up to 2 months. Defrost, then add the sage leaves and finish the recipe.