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Tabbouleh Stuffing With Dried Fruit

No more stuffy stuffing

Cooks add their own texture, flavor to Thanksgiving mix

When Lucinda Scala Quinn was growing up, her family stuffed its turkey from both ends.

In a nod to her father's Southern Italian heritage, a stuffing of ground pork, raisins and pine nuts went in the neck cavity. The bird's back end, to please Quinn's Scottish mother, was jammed with a blander mix of onions, celery and bread cubes.

That simple peacekeeping gesture speaks volumes about Americans' passion for this once simple side, which Quinn, now editorial director for food for Martha Stewart Living magazine, says is second only to turkey as the quintessential Thanksgiving food.

“It carries their ethnic heritage,” she said. “It carries their regional heritage. It bridges the gap between bird and side dish.”

And in recent years, that gap has been bridged by a variety of tastes and textures. Bread cubes have given way to grains such as farro and quinoa. The sage and pepper of our parents share space with Middle Eastern seasonings, such as ras el hanout.

“People are feeling less constrained by tradition,” said Kristine Kidd, food editor at Bon Appetit magazine. “I'm seeing a lot of mushrooms, and not just button mushrooms. And sour dried cherries are showing up. And fresh herbs way beyond parsley.”

Home cooks are increasingly willing to ditch the tried-and-true approaches to stuffing, said Alison Ashton, senior food editor at Cooking Light magazine. She said her readers have been far more willing to experiment.

Restaurateurs such as Sterling Smith of Sterling Inn in New Rochelle, N.Y., have helped pull people along that path. He sees Thanksgiving as an opportunity to showcase global influences.

“I'm always looking to try new things,” said Smith.

His Thanksgiving offerings have included tabbouleh stuffing with bulgur and dried fruit for vegetarians, and a more traditional sausage and chestnut stuffing for meat-eaters.

Bill Phillips, the executive chef at the Culinary Institute of America's American Bounty Restaurant in Hyde Park, N.Y., said regional stuffings, such as a Cajun version with spicy tasso ham, are becoming popular, as are stuffings with cheese, especially artisanal cheeses.

Phillips suggested a favorite recipe he served at Maxime's, the now-closed restaurant in Granite Springs, N.Y., where he previously cooked, that hints of tradition but augments the bread with wild rice and ground pork. The end product resembles meatloaf more than traditional stuffing.

And chef Arnd Sievers, formerly of Mohonk Mountain House resort in New Paltz, N.Y., likes his stuffings to showcase local produce.

“Here in the Hudson Valley, you have so many apple farmers around, and for this I like to use the local apples,” said Sievers, whose corn bread and apple stuffing gets tartness from dried cranberries and heft from turkey giblets.

While opinions differ on whether to cook the stuffing inside or outside the bird, Phillips suggested a compromise: Cook it in the turkey, then scoop it out, put it in a pan and stick it in the oven to crisp while the turkey rests.

“You get the best of both worlds,” he said.

If you cook the stuffing inside the bird, be certain it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.

Tabbouleh Stuffing With Dried Fruit

Makes 6 servings

• 3 cups bulgur wheat
• 3 cups boiling water
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 onions, finely diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 portobello mushroom caps, gills removed, diced
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage
• 2 teaspoons ras el hanout
  (a Middle Eastern seasoning available at gourmet shops and online spice shops)
• 1 cup finely diced celery
• 1/2 cup finely diced dried prunes or dates
• 1 cup diced dried apricots
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup turkey gravy

Place the bulgur wheat in a large bowl. Add 3 cups boiling water, then cover with plastic wrap and let stand 10 to 12 minutes.

In a saute pan over medium-high heat, heat olive oil. Add onions and garlic and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook until tender. Remove from heat.

Remove plastic wrap from bulgur and add onion-mushroom mixture. Mix well, then season with salt and pepper. Add the sage, ras el hanout, celery, prunes, apricots and cranberries. Mix well, then mix in the gravy and adjust the seasonings to taste.

Stuff turkey with mixture, or put it in a lightly buttered pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.

(From Sterling Smith, the Sterling Inn, New Rochelle, N.Y.)

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