Dried Tomato And Fennel Stuffing Recipes

DRIED TOMATO AND FENNEL STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325° F.
• In a large shallow baking pan toast bread in middle of oven until just dry, 15 to 20 minutes. Trim fennel stalks flush with bulbs, reserving fronds, and discard stalks. Cut bulbs into 1/4-inch dice and chop reserved fronds. In a large skillet cook fennel bulb and fronds in butter over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until bulb is tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
• While fennel is cooking, cut tomatoes into 1/4-inch dice and in a small saucepan simmer in broth 10 minutes. In a large bowl toss together bread, fennel, tomato mixture, vinegar, herbs, and salt and pepper to taste and cool completely. (Stuffing may be made up to this point 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring stuffing to room temperature before proceeding.)
• For cooking stuffing inside poultry:
• Any frozen poultry destined for stuffing should be completely thawed, and the stuffing itself brought to room temperature before it's put into the turkey. Do not stuff your bird the night before you cook it; such a seeming time-saver can have dangerous results. Instead, it is best to loosely fill the bird's neck and body cavities immediately before roasting. And always use a meat or instant-read thermometer: The meat is done when the temperature of the thickest part of the thigh (be careful not to touch the bones) reaches 180°F.; the stuffing baked inside the bird is done at 160°-165°F. After roasting, let your stuffed poultry stand 15 to 20 minutes, a double assurance that the requisite temperatures for food safety have been reached.
• For cooking all or part of stuffing outside poultry:
• In a shallow baking dish bake stuffing in preheated 325° F oven 40 minutes (for moist stuffing, bake it covered entire time; for less moist stuffing that has a slightly crisp top, uncover it after 10 minutes).

OVEN-DRIED TOMATOES WITH FENNEL

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 150 degrees. Remove tomato stems and cut the tomatoes in half at the poles. Salt and pepper the cut sides then place tomatoes cut-side down on a rack in a broiler pan. Brush the tops (the skin side) liberally with olive oil, then add salt and pepper. Place tomatoes in oven. Cook slowly for 12 hours, brushing the skins with olive oil every 2 hours to prevent the skins from drying out. When done, let tomatoes come to room temperature. For the dressing: Put the vinegar in a bowl and slowly whisk in the extra virgin olive oil until the dressing thickens. Add the olives and the garlic clove. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix well and let stand for 1-2 hours. To serve: Place 3 tomato halves on each of 8 plates. Remove garlic from dressing and divide dressing among the plates, pouring over and around the tomatoes. Scatter the fennel strips on top of the tomatoes and finish with a touch of chervil.;

CLASSIC HERB AND FENNEL STUFFING

Steps:

• Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 250°F. Arrange bread in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake, tossing occasionally, until dried out, about 1 hour. Let cool; transfer to a very large bowl. Increase oven temperature to 350°F.
• Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Cook onions, fennel, and celery, stirring often, until softened but not yet browned, 8-10 minutes. Add wine and cook, stirring, until almost completely evaporated, about 1 minute. Add butter and cook, stirring, until melted, about 3 minutes. Scrape vegetable mixture over bread in bowl and mix in parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper.
• Whisk eggs and broth in a medium bowl to combine. Pour over bread mixture; fold gently until thoroughly coated. Divide between two 8x8" baking dishes (you can also put it all in a 13x9" baking dish if you prefer) and pack stuffing down. Cover with foil and bake until you can see some bubbles around the edges of the dishes, 30-35 minutes.
• Increase oven temperature to 425°F. Uncover stuffing and bake until top is golden brown and crisp, 20-25 minutes. Let sit 10 minutes before serving.
• Bread can be baked 2 days ahead; store airtight at room temperature. Stuffing can be assembled 1 day ahead; cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before baking.

SUN-DRIED TOMATO AND FENNEL SEED HUMMUS

Steps:

• Place garbanzo beans, tahini, sun-dried tomatoes, lemon juice, olive oil, and maple syrup in the bowl of a food processor. Blend until smooth. Add in fennel seed, nutritional yeast, and onion; blend until smooth. Season to taste with salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper.

FENNEL SAUSAGE STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toss cubed bread with 3 tablespoons olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread on a baking sheet and bake until bread is crisp, about 30 minutes.
• Heat vegetable oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Crumble in sausage and cook, stirring until brown. Remove sausage; discard oil. Reheat pot over medium heat. Add 1/4 cup olive oil, and heat until hot. Add garlic, carrots, fennel, leeks, and onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add wine and raisins. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer about 3 minutes. Stir in sausage and red pepper flakes. Remove from heat. Stir in nuts, herbs, bread, stock, butter, and eggs. Mix well.
• Mound 1 1/4 cup stuffing mixture into 1/2-cup capasity buttered muffin tins. Bake until golden and crusty on top, about 30 to 40 minutes.