Day: November 7, 2011

Wheat-free Cornbread Stuffing

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I just couldn’t wait any longer.

It was time to make stuffing.

But not just any stuffing.

Cornbread and butternut squash stuffing.

I always make stuffing and cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving.  It’s my thing.  The cranberry sauce goes back to when I was a teenager and I loved to cook but only super simple things; Cream of Wheat, noodle soup, chocolate pudding (from scratch and from a box), and cranberry sauce.  These days I think I like to take charge of the sauce so that I can cut the sugar and throw in some spices. Since I don’t eat meat I started making stuffing for the big meal to ensure that I would enjoy a delicious-whole grain-meat-free-yet-still-sort-of-traditional side dish.

A few weeks ago I caught a glimpse of a beautiful recipe for a cornbread stuffing.   My mom doesn’t eat a lot of wheat so I thought this would be the perfect addition to our table this year.  I couldn’t find the recipe so I came up with my own.

This dish is gluten free, vegetarian (and can easily be made vegan), and “light” compared to traditional butter laden stuffings.

First I made cornbread.

Into a bowl went

  • 3 cups organic cornmeal
  • 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon each baking soda, baking powder, and salt
  • a good pinch each of the stuffing herbs (dried parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme) or a few pinches of your homemade Stuffing Salt (reduce salt if using herb salt)
Whisk dry ingredients together then add wet
  • 2 cups any kind of milk you like; soy, cow, nut, coconut, zucchini…yep, I have a friend soy/dairy allergic friend who makes zucchini milk!
  • 1/4 cup yogurt, applesauce, or pumpkin puree
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
Mix the batter thoroughly then leave it to rest for about twenty minutes.
Spread the batter on a cookie sheet with a silplat on or give it a little grease.
Cook at 400 degrees for about a half hour or until it looks done (you know, cooked and starting to brown).
In the meantime you can gather and prep your veg.
  • One onion, minced
  • ~3 cups of butternut squash, diced
  • 3 stalks of celery, diced
  • 3 carrots, diced
  • 3 or more cloves of garlic, minced
  • fat for cooking
  • honey or sugar
  • balsamic vinegar
  • salt
  • 2 cups of water
Heat a teaspoon or two of coconut oil or butter over low-medium heat.  Add onions and a spoonful of honey or sugar and cook slowly until translucent.  Add squash and continue to cook, stirring occasionally.
When the squash begins to soften, add the celery, some salt/herb salt, and a splash of balsamic vinegar.  Cook and stir for ~5 minutes then add the carrots, garlic, and two cups of water.  Bring the water to a gentle simmer for a few minutes then turn off heat.
When the cornbread is done, cut it into pieces and toss into a big bowl.
Add 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast and big pinches of stuffing herbs and salt/stuffing salt and a few grinds of pepper.
Top with the veggie mixture and gently stir until fully incorporated.
Taste for saltiness/herbiness and adjust as needed.
Scoop into an oven safe dish, press everything down, and either put it in the oven or into the fridge to re-heat later.
To heat: bake covered with foil for 15 minutes or so at 400* then uncover and broil for a few minutes to get the top crusty.

Do you have a Thanksgiving tradition of making the same dish?