Tarragon Stuffing Recipes

BAKED LOBSTERS WITH A TARRAGON STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Place lobsters, shell side up, on a flat surface and plunge a knife quickly into the midsection where the tail joins the body. Hack away the claws and reserve them. Cut the lobsters in half lengthwise, head to tail. Remove and discard the tough sac inside the body near the eyes. Remove and discard the dark vein (the intestinal tract) from the tail section. Remove and reserve the soft coral and tomalley from each lobster. Place these in a bowl.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter in a saucepan, and add the celery, green onions or scallions and garlic. Sprinkle with thyme, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, about 1 minute. Let cool.
• To the bowl with the coral and tomalley add bread crumbs, the remaining butter, tarragon, parsley, salt and pepper. Beat well to blend. Add the celery and green-onion mixture and blend.
• Arrange lobster halves, shell side down, on a baking sheet. Scatter the claws around the halves.
• Spoon equal portions of the bread-crumb mixture into the body cavities of each lobster half. Do not cover the tail meat with the mixture. Sprinkle the tail meat with salt and pepper. Brush the tail meat with oil.
• Place in the oven, and bake 20 minutes. Serve with basil-butter sauce on the side.

TARRAGON MUSHROOM AND SAUSAGE STUFFING (LOW CARB)

Steps:

• Heat electric skillet to medium-low heat.
• Saute onions in oil for 30 mins, until carmelized.
• Turn the heat up to med-high, and add mushrooms.
• Saute the mushrooms for 10-12 mins, until they are crisp on the edges.
• Season with salt and pepper, as you saute mushrooms (this tastes best with lots of salt and pepper).
• Turn the heat to high, and add cooking wine.
• Allow cooking wine to cook off a bit, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Stir in the butter 1 tbs at a time until it is well mixed.
• Remove mixture to platter.
• Squeeze sausage out of casings, and cook over med-high heat, for 5 to 7 minutes.
• Add onion and mushroom mixture back to skillet.
• Add tarragon, and heat until well mixed and heated thru.
• Serve as a side dish, or add stuffing to turkey, before baking.

BASIC STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Melt 1 stick butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add 2 cups each diced onions and celery, 2 chopped apples and 1 tablespoon each minced sage and thyme; season with salt and pepper and cook 5 minutes. Add 3 cups chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Whisk 2 eggs with 1/4 cup chopped parsley in a large bowl; add 16 cups cubed stale country white bread, then pour in the vegetable-broth mixture and toss. Transfer to a buttered 3-quart baking dish and dot with more butter. Cover and bake 30 minutes, then uncover and bake until golden, 20 more minutes.

TRIPLE CHEESE & TARRAGON-STUFFED MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Heat the grill to high. Remove the central stalks of the mushrooms, season and place on a baking tray. Mix the cheeses and tarragon together and season. Spoon the cheese mixture onto the mushrooms and grill for 8-10 mins, or until bubbling and oozy.
• Remove from the tray with a spatula, season and serve with a rocket salad.

LEEK, MUSHROOM AND BACON STUFFING WITH TARRAGON

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread bread cubes on 2 rimmed baking sheets. Bake until bread is almost dry, about 15 minutes. Cool. Transfer to large bowl.
• Sauté bacon in large pot over medium-high heat until crisp, about 12 minutes. Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Reserve 6 tablespoons drippings in pot; discard any remaining drippings.
• Add leeks and button mushrooms to same pot. Sauté over medium-high heat until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add shiitake mushrooms and saute 4 minutes. Add celery and sauté until leeks and mushrooms are tender but celery is still slightly crisp, about 6 minutes longer. (Bread, bacon and sautéed vegetables can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover separately. Store bread at room temperature; refrigerate bacon and vegetables.) Mix bacon, sautéed vegetables and tarragon into bread. Season generously with salt and pepper. Mix eggs into stuffing.
• To bake stuffing in turkey:
• Loosely fill main cavity with stuffing. Add enough broth to remaining stuffing to moisten lightly (about 1/4 to 1/2 cup, depending on amount of remaining stuffing). Generously butter glass baking dish. Spoon remaining stuffing into prepared dish. Cover with buttered foil, buttered side down. Bake stuffing in dish alongside turkey until heated through, about 25 to 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until top is slightly crisp and golden, about 15 to 20 minutes.
• To bake all of stuffing in baking dish:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously butter 15 x 10 x 2-inch . Add enough broth to stuffing to moisten (about 3/4 to 1 cup). Transfer stuffing to prepared dish. Cover with butter foil, buttered side down; bake until heated through, about 30 to 35 minutes. Uncover and bake until top is slightly crisp and golden, about 20 to 25 minutes longer.

TARRAGON SALAD DRESSING

Steps:

• In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the first 9 ingredients; shake well. Serve over salad greens.

BREAD STUFFING

Steps:

• Melt butter over medium heat in a large, deep skillet, Dutch oven or casserole. Add onion and cook, stirring, until it softens, about 5 minutes. Add nuts and cook, stirring almost constantly, until they begin to brown, about 3 minutes.
• Add bread crumbs and tarragon or sage and toss to mix. Turn heat to low. Add salt, pepper and scallions. Toss again; taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Add parsley and stir. Turn off heat. (You may prepare recipe in advance up to this point; refrigerate, well wrapped or in a covered container, for up to a day before proceeding.)
• Pack into chicken or turkey if you like before roasting, or roast in an ovenproof glass or enameled casserole for about 45 minutes, at 350 to 400 degrees; you can bake this dish next to the bird, if you like. (Or you can cook it up to 3 days in advance and warm it up right before dinner.)

CREAMY TARRAGON SALAD DRESSING

Steps:

• Place the Dijon mustard, sugar, vinegar, garlic clove, and salt into a blender. Cover, and puree until the garlic has blended smooth. Sprinkle in the xanthan gum, and blend about 15 seconds to mix well. With the blender running, pour in the vegetable oil alternately with the water; blend until thick and creamy. Add the celery seed, red pepper flakes, black pepper, tarragon, and mustard seed; pulse until the spices are evenly distributed.

ELEGANT TURKEY STUFFING

Steps:

• Place the raisins in a small saucepan, and cover with 1 cup of liqueur. Bring to boil, remove from heat, and set aside.
• In a large skillet, melt 1/2 cup butter over medium heat. Saute the celery and onion in the butter for 10 minutes. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
• In the same skillet, cook the sausage over medium-high heat until crumbled and evenly brown. Drain.
• Combine the sausage and stuffing mix with the celery and onion mixture. Stir in the raisins and liqueur, pecans, and apples. Mix in melted butter, chicken broth, 1/2 cup orange liqueur; the stuffing should be totally moistened. Season with sage, salt, and pepper.

HERBED SHALLOT STUFFING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F.
• Cook shallot in butter in a large heavy skillet over moderately low heat, stirring, until butter is melted and shallot is slightly softened, about 5 minutes.
• Combine bread crumbs, herbs, salt, and pepper in a large bowl and stir in butter mixture. Drizzle with Cognac, tossing to combine, and gently stir in broth. (Use 1 1/2 cups broth if you like a moist stuffing, 1 cup if you prefer it drier.)
• Transfer stuffing to a buttered 3-quart shallow baking dish. Cover with foil and bake in middle of oven 30 minutes, then uncover and bake until top is crisp and stuffing is heated through, about 30 minutes more.

ROAST CHICKEN WITH LEEK, TARRAGON & GOAT'S CHEESE STUFFING

Steps:

• Chop the leeks and onion fairly finely: use the pulse button if chopping them in a food processor, so they don't turn to mush. Melt 25g/1oz butter in a large frying pan placed over a lowish heat and fry the vegetables gently for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until soft. Set the pan aside to cool.
• Strip off all the herb leaves and put them in a food processor with the remaining butter, the cheeses, breadcrumbs and the cooled vegetables. Season, then pulse until the mixture is a rough, sticky, dough-like mass.
• Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6/fan 180C. Place the chicken with the large cavity facing towards you. Remove and discard any fat remaining inside the opening. Now gently separate the skin over the breast area from the flesh beneath: use the tip of a small knife to get going, then gently ease your fingers in between and work them to the far end on both sides of the breast bone.
• Without tearing the skin, push in dollops of stuffing, massaging them right down and over the flesh. (Put any leftover stuffing into the small neck cavity.) Pull the skin back into place and seal in the stuffing by stitching 2-3 wooden toothpicks through the edges of the opening, like a needle in a tapestry. You can make the stuffing up to 24 hours ahead, keeping it cling-filmed in the fridge.
• Put the chicken in a snug-fitting roasting tin, smear the skin with oil and season. Roast the chicken, breast-side up, for 30 minutes. Turn the chicken on its side, basting with any juices, and roast for a further 30 minutes, then roast for an equal period on the other side. Now turn the chicken breast-side up again, and continue to roast for 10-30 minutes, or until the juices run clear when a skewer is poked into the thickest part of the thigh.
• Leave the chicken to rest in the tin for 15-20 minutes, loosely draped with foil. To serve, first remove the toothpicks, then carve the chicken, spooning some of the soft stuffing onto each serving.