Ingredients

• A large onion, finely chopped
• Two cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
• Packet or tin of cooked chestnuts, broken up a little
• Packet or tin of unsweetened chestnut purée
• 150g or so of breadcrumbs
• A tbsp nooch
• A handful of cranberries, chopped apricot, apple or prunes
• Sage, rosemary, thyme
• Soy sauce and pepper to taste
• Non-dairy butter or oil
• Optional: Chopped walnuts, hazelnuts or almonds
• Optional: Finely chopped mushrooms

Method

1. Sauté the onion till soft and translucent. Add the garlic and sauté for another couple of minutes.
2. Optional: If you’re making this as a meal rather than as stuffing or a side dish, sauté 200g of finely chopped mushrooms with the onion till almost cooked and there’s no liquid.
3. Combine the sauté mixture with the breadcrumbs, nooch, chestnuts and purée, fruit, herbs and nuts (if using).
4. Season with a tablespoon or so of soy sauce and pepper. Check for taste.
5. If it seems dry and won’t clump together when you squeeze a bit of it, add non-dairy butter or oil.
6. Use this stuffing to fill the Christmas Roast, bake it in a dish to serve as it is, form it into patties or balls and bake or fry. It’s also great for stuffing portobello mushrooms or red peppers. Freezes perfectly.

By Rebecca