Lidgate's chestnut stuffing
Lidgate’s chestnut stuffing
“I couldn’t improve on his recipes, and so I’ve got them for you” (Nigella, p61).
“I couldn’t improve on his recipes, and so I’ve got them for you” (Nigella, p61).
Having given a lot of thought to the turkey stuffing this year, in the end I opted to make the chestnut stuffing from HTE (and many other of Nigella's books) again. I remember that I absolutely loved it, but I really don't feel that I made the most of it last time, making it for plain roast chicken for a pre-Christmas meal. Well, this time I thought that I would make it as the only Christmas stuffing, to stuff our turkey and the remaining stuffing to be cooked in little patties in a 12-bun muffin tray as I successfully did last year. I will replace all photos as usual, and add any additional comments in red.
Having really enjoyed the chestnut and pancetta salad, I turn now to chestnut stuffing; the recipe that Nigella uses although it is not her own (it is her butcher’s, Mr Lidgate). It may seem strange to be making this stuffing now, and not to wait until Christmas. However, as I have mentioned many times, I am making Nigella’s Christmas Eve goose for Christmas this year, which is stuffed with mashed potatoes. I am not going to wait until *next* Christmas to make this stuffing, so I thought that it was best to take advantage of the festive season and make this chestnut stuffing for a pre-Christmas chicken dinner. Friday 21st December sees Christopher’s final day at work – he has been looking forward to this day for months now – and therefore I thought that I would make chicken stuffed with Lidgate’s chestnut stuffing for his homecoming meal! I am also making roasted potatoes and chicken gravy to accompany this. For once, I am not serving vegetables with this meal because we have so much food in the fridge at the moment during the run-up to Christmas, that I really don’t think that anything else will fit in there. As it is, I am cramming the chicken in bottom on its side! I am actually looking forward to cooking a roast, because it will serve as good practice for Christmas day, when the success or otherwise of the entire Christmas dinner (including gravy which I am notoriously bad at) rests in my hands! This year I made it as part of our Christmas dinner feast, which included roast turkey, gravy, roast potatoes, Nigella's bread sauce, cranberry sauce, Nigella's brussels sprouts with chestnuts, Yorkshire puddings, pigs in blankets and honey-roasted parsnips.
I have a feeling that this will be very nice indeed. I really like stuffing, although we don’t actually eat it that much in this house. Usually (I am ashamed to admit), I do rely on packet mixtures for stuffing. I make so many things from scratch, but unfortunately stuffing is one of those things that has always slipped my mind and then when I remember it, it all seems to blow out of proportion in my mind, so that I can’t bear the thought of making *another thing.* Last Christmas, though, I did have a go at making a gluten-free stuffing for my dad, which consisted of the meat from gluten-free sausages, eggs, parsley and gluten-free breadcrumbs. I must admit, it didn’t go too badly. I was reasonably happy with the outcome (although the stuffing did cook to be pretty hard – and had to be sliced rather like a cake!). To put it mildly, I am more than happy to put my previous stuffing trauma behind me and concentrate on a new recipe.
In terms of quantities; I am keeping them the same as specified in HTE. Now I know there is a lot of stuffing here, but anything that doesn’t fit in the chicken I am going to bake separately in a 12-bun muffin tray. Also, don’t forget that the quantities in HTE are for stuffing only half a bird (in HTE, the other half is stuffed with a cranberry stuffing) and I am planning on stuffing a whole chicken with the chestnut stuffing alone. I did the same this year, to stuff a large 4kg turkey and to have leftovers.
Ingredients: All of the ingredients are pretty standard and can be purchased from pretty much anywhere; I brought mine from Tescos. A few years ago, I would have thought that ingredients such as whole vacuum-packed chestnuts and chestnut puree were specialist, elusive items, but I found them really easily from Tescos; both were Merchant Gourmet. I didn’t read this recipe ahead and didn’t realise that I would need breadcrumbs, but luckily I just so happened to have a loaf of slightly stale bread that I was keeping away for just such an occasion. Then, I followed the recipe for breadcrumbs on page 24 of HTE. Oh by the way, I was near the butcher’s when I brought the ingredients for this, so I popped in there to buy the streaky bacon.
Price: The shallots, streaky bacon, chestnut puree, whole chestnuts and parsley totalled £8.87. The only ingredients which I didn’t need were butter, eggs, bread and nutmeg, which I had at home.
I have a feeling that this will be very nice indeed. I really like stuffing, although we don’t actually eat it that much in this house. Usually (I am ashamed to admit), I do rely on packet mixtures for stuffing. I make so many things from scratch, but unfortunately stuffing is one of those things that has always slipped my mind and then when I remember it, it all seems to blow out of proportion in my mind, so that I can’t bear the thought of making *another thing.* Last Christmas, though, I did have a go at making a gluten-free stuffing for my dad, which consisted of the meat from gluten-free sausages, eggs, parsley and gluten-free breadcrumbs. I must admit, it didn’t go too badly. I was reasonably happy with the outcome (although the stuffing did cook to be pretty hard – and had to be sliced rather like a cake!). To put it mildly, I am more than happy to put my previous stuffing trauma behind me and concentrate on a new recipe.
In terms of quantities; I am keeping them the same as specified in HTE. Now I know there is a lot of stuffing here, but anything that doesn’t fit in the chicken I am going to bake separately in a 12-bun muffin tray. Also, don’t forget that the quantities in HTE are for stuffing only half a bird (in HTE, the other half is stuffed with a cranberry stuffing) and I am planning on stuffing a whole chicken with the chestnut stuffing alone. I did the same this year, to stuff a large 4kg turkey and to have leftovers.
Ingredients: All of the ingredients are pretty standard and can be purchased from pretty much anywhere; I brought mine from Tescos. A few years ago, I would have thought that ingredients such as whole vacuum-packed chestnuts and chestnut puree were specialist, elusive items, but I found them really easily from Tescos; both were Merchant Gourmet. I didn’t read this recipe ahead and didn’t realise that I would need breadcrumbs, but luckily I just so happened to have a loaf of slightly stale bread that I was keeping away for just such an occasion. Then, I followed the recipe for breadcrumbs on page 24 of HTE. Oh by the way, I was near the butcher’s when I brought the ingredients for this, so I popped in there to buy the streaky bacon.
Price: The shallots, streaky bacon, chestnut puree, whole chestnuts and parsley totalled £8.87. The only ingredients which I didn’t need were butter, eggs, bread and nutmeg, which I had at home.
(The chestnut puree which I used)
Method: The stuffing is easy to prepare, but there is a lot of chopping. 175g of shallots is no joke and I must admit that after my first shallot, I simply peeled and halved the rest and blitzed them in the food processor. I did exactly the same with the breadcrumbs and parsley later. I find the processor so much easier for these fiddly kitchen jobs, and the shallots were irritating me like crazy! Also, as the shallots are going in the stuffing, they *shouldn’t* be in large pieces. Indeed, the recipe says “chopped finely” and what can give more of a fine chop than a food processor? A year later, with much more chopping practice, I was happy enough to chop the shallots by hand. Also, I have learned a lot about various chopping techniques in the training prior to running my own cookery club!
After that, one simply fries the chopped shallots and bacon together with melted butter for 10 minutes until soft. This gives the ideal opportunity to make the rest of the stuffing which is hysterically easy, and simply involves beating the eggs, adding them to the chestnut stuffing and then adding the chopped chestnuts, breadcrumbs, parsley, seasoning and then later the shallot-bacon mixture.
It was actually stuffing the bird where I got confused. I keep hearing so many different things about stuffing the bird. It seems to me that *every* cook has an opinion about Christmas and there is so much conflicting advice out there. Obviously, Nigella jam-packs her bird with not one, but two, different types of stuffing. Jamie Oliver on the other hand, advises not to overstuff the bird because dramatically increases cooking time. Well, I *did* stuff the bird (and I did stuff it neck-end ad suggested by Nigella), but bearing in mind Jamie’s advice, I did try not to overstuff the thing. I’m not sure how successful I was at that, because our chicken seemed to take a *lot* of stuffing! I did, though, have a fair amount left over, which I actually spooned into some muffin trays – I made 9 extra “muffin-sized” pieces of stuffing. This time, I lightly stuffed the turkey with some of the stuffing, stuffed at the neck-end. I actually made 12 extra little stuffing balls, but I did make them a little smaller than last years.
Putting the stuffed chicken into the oven, I took Nigella’s advice for turkey and melted a little goose fat and brushed it over the chicken’s breast prior to roasting.
In terms of cooking time, the 2 ½ kg stuffed chicken took 3 hours to cook properly and the individual stuffings took 1 hour at the very bottom of the oven. This time, I cooked the individual stuffing balls in the top of our new fan oven, and I found them to take about 35 minutes, which anyway corresponds more closely to the cooking times for the chestnut stuffing in Feast and Nigella Christmas.
After that, one simply fries the chopped shallots and bacon together with melted butter for 10 minutes until soft. This gives the ideal opportunity to make the rest of the stuffing which is hysterically easy, and simply involves beating the eggs, adding them to the chestnut stuffing and then adding the chopped chestnuts, breadcrumbs, parsley, seasoning and then later the shallot-bacon mixture.
It was actually stuffing the bird where I got confused. I keep hearing so many different things about stuffing the bird. It seems to me that *every* cook has an opinion about Christmas and there is so much conflicting advice out there. Obviously, Nigella jam-packs her bird with not one, but two, different types of stuffing. Jamie Oliver on the other hand, advises not to overstuff the bird because dramatically increases cooking time. Well, I *did* stuff the bird (and I did stuff it neck-end ad suggested by Nigella), but bearing in mind Jamie’s advice, I did try not to overstuff the thing. I’m not sure how successful I was at that, because our chicken seemed to take a *lot* of stuffing! I did, though, have a fair amount left over, which I actually spooned into some muffin trays – I made 9 extra “muffin-sized” pieces of stuffing. This time, I lightly stuffed the turkey with some of the stuffing, stuffed at the neck-end. I actually made 12 extra little stuffing balls, but I did make them a little smaller than last years.
Putting the stuffed chicken into the oven, I took Nigella’s advice for turkey and melted a little goose fat and brushed it over the chicken’s breast prior to roasting.
In terms of cooking time, the 2 ½ kg stuffed chicken took 3 hours to cook properly and the individual stuffings took 1 hour at the very bottom of the oven. This time, I cooked the individual stuffing balls in the top of our new fan oven, and I found them to take about 35 minutes, which anyway corresponds more closely to the cooking times for the chestnut stuffing in Feast and Nigella Christmas.
(Chestnut puree with beaten eggs)
(With added whole chestnuts, breadcrumbs, parsley, bacony shallot mixture and seasoning)
Result: So, I must say, although the chicken wasn’t Nigella’s recipe, but a “shell” which allowed me to practice making stuffing, however I did think that the chicken looked bloody amazing. It smelled fantastic and was burnished brown and crispy. The now crisped stuffing could just be seen poking out of the neck cavity. I did take a moment to stand back and revel in my success! The “mini-stuffings” also looked lovely. The top had crisped up and was burnished brown and almost caramelised.
So, what did it taste like? Well, it would be very difficult for me if I had to tell you just one flavour or taste that dominated this stuffing. Really, this stuffing was a whole mish-mash of flavours, textures and tastes – just as it should be.
The stuffing was soft, mealy, and had a wonderful nutty, nubbly texture with a fantastic crunch! I think the wonderful nubbliness comes from the chopped chestnuts and perhaps the bacon-shallot mixture. The stuffing was certainly a chestnut stuffing – no one could dispute that – but what I really liked about this stuffing is that the chestnuts did not dominate. They were not artificially heightened in a garish and brash fashion, but rather they were very subtle and gave the whole stuffing a nutty and delicate flavour. It is no secret that Chris doesn’t really like those whole chestnuts, but even he really liked this stuffing. In short, it is chestnutty, but not overpoweringly so.
There were also other flavours which really gave this stuffing its own distinct tastes; I loved the little pieces of crunchy shallot, which combined with the chopped whole chestnuts, gave the stuffing a wonderful mealy texture. I also thought that the bacon could really be tasted, and the darker, smokier tastes of the bacon really highlighted the subtlety of the chestnuts.
I also really liked the parsley and especially the texture that the chopped leaves and stalks gave to the stuffing. Even though I do say it myself, I gad seasoned it well (hardly difficult), and the black pepper and festive notes of nutmeg really worked well with the other flavours in the stuffing.
Now, personally I thought that this stuffing was 100 times better than anything shop-brought. In my opinion, this stuffing was much more sophisticated and smokily, nuttily subtle. What is more, it has such a fantastic texture – it is nutty and nubbly with actual pieces of chestnut, shallot and bacon – which makes it a million billion times divorced from those supermarket stuffings, however nice they may be, with their uniform texture and taste.
I know this sounds strange (and don’t ask me why!), but Chris and I both preferred the stuffing which had been cooked *outside* the bird, in that muffin tray. Because of this, I don’t know that I would bother to actually stuff the bird in future (I see, reading Feast, that Nigella now bakes the stuffing separately). It is just so much easier to do things this way (not to mention quicker).
All in all, this stuffing was soft, subtle, delicate, and nutty and nubbly! We loved it a lot and I won’t hesitate to make it again. Yes, I can only agree with all of the above for the second outing of this stuffing. I don't know whether I have grown yet more enthusiastic over the last year though, because if anything, I would triple - or quadruple - the level of positive affect concerning the stuffing.
So, what did it taste like? Well, it would be very difficult for me if I had to tell you just one flavour or taste that dominated this stuffing. Really, this stuffing was a whole mish-mash of flavours, textures and tastes – just as it should be.
The stuffing was soft, mealy, and had a wonderful nutty, nubbly texture with a fantastic crunch! I think the wonderful nubbliness comes from the chopped chestnuts and perhaps the bacon-shallot mixture. The stuffing was certainly a chestnut stuffing – no one could dispute that – but what I really liked about this stuffing is that the chestnuts did not dominate. They were not artificially heightened in a garish and brash fashion, but rather they were very subtle and gave the whole stuffing a nutty and delicate flavour. It is no secret that Chris doesn’t really like those whole chestnuts, but even he really liked this stuffing. In short, it is chestnutty, but not overpoweringly so.
There were also other flavours which really gave this stuffing its own distinct tastes; I loved the little pieces of crunchy shallot, which combined with the chopped whole chestnuts, gave the stuffing a wonderful mealy texture. I also thought that the bacon could really be tasted, and the darker, smokier tastes of the bacon really highlighted the subtlety of the chestnuts.
I also really liked the parsley and especially the texture that the chopped leaves and stalks gave to the stuffing. Even though I do say it myself, I gad seasoned it well (hardly difficult), and the black pepper and festive notes of nutmeg really worked well with the other flavours in the stuffing.
Now, personally I thought that this stuffing was 100 times better than anything shop-brought. In my opinion, this stuffing was much more sophisticated and smokily, nuttily subtle. What is more, it has such a fantastic texture – it is nutty and nubbly with actual pieces of chestnut, shallot and bacon – which makes it a million billion times divorced from those supermarket stuffings, however nice they may be, with their uniform texture and taste.
I know this sounds strange (and don’t ask me why!), but Chris and I both preferred the stuffing which had been cooked *outside* the bird, in that muffin tray. Because of this, I don’t know that I would bother to actually stuff the bird in future (I see, reading Feast, that Nigella now bakes the stuffing separately). It is just so much easier to do things this way (not to mention quicker).
All in all, this stuffing was soft, subtle, delicate, and nutty and nubbly! We loved it a lot and I won’t hesitate to make it again. Yes, I can only agree with all of the above for the second outing of this stuffing. I don't know whether I have grown yet more enthusiastic over the last year though, because if anything, I would triple - or quadruple - the level of positive affect concerning the stuffing.
(The excess stuffing pre-oven)
Other person’s perspective: Chris absolutely loved it and said that it was very nice with festive flavours. It was not over fatty or dominated by the chestnuts. He especially liked the taste of the bacon. All in all, he said that this was well worth making. And again, Chris loved the stuffing. I think he too has grown even more affectionate towards the stuffing because he actually said that the stuffing was the best thing about the whole meal and that it was absolutely amazing and gorgeous.
(Post-oven)
Future changes: I am almost 100% sure that I would bake this outside the bird in future (see above). Other than that, I don’t think I would attempt to change anything about this stuffing - it was just lovely as it was. Chris, though, thought of adding a handful of cranberries, but I don’t think that that addition would be in quite the same register.
Future changes: I am almost 100% sure that I would bake this outside the bird in future (see above). Other than that, I don’t think I would attempt to change anything about this stuffing - it was just lovely as it was. Chris, though, thought of adding a handful of cranberries, but I don’t think that that addition would be in quite the same register.
(My plate and check out the lovely chestnut stuffing ball!)
Rating: I would certainly give this a 5/5 rating.
Labels: Chestnuts
