30 mins to 1 hour
10 to 30 mins
Serves 6
It’s definitely worth the effort of making your own stuffing for Christmas dinner, and Mary Berry’s version is a winner. This recipe is easily doubled.
- 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
- 225g/8oz dried apricots, snipped into small pieces
- 225g/9oz fresh white breadcrumbs
- 75g/3oz butter
- 225g/8oz frozen chestnuts, thawed, roughly chopped
- generous bunch fresh parsley, chopped
- salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- Preheat oven 200C/400F/Gas 6. Butter a shallow ovenproof dish.
- Add 600ml/1 pint water into a pan with the onion and apricots. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about five minutes. Drain.
- Put the breadcrumbs into a large bowl. Melt the butter in a frying pan and pour half of this onto the breadcrumbs.
- In the remaining butter, fry the chestnuts over a high heat until lightly browned. Tip into the bowl with the breadcrumbs. Add the apricots, onion and parsley to the bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
- Turn into a buttered, shallow ovenproof dish and bake in a preheated oven for about 25-30 minutes until crisp and hot right through.
To freeze: cool and cover the dish with foil, freeze until Christmas Eve.
To thaw: take out the night before using and thaw overnight. Crisp in a hot oven (as above) for about 10-15 minutes.
