As most of you already know, my family Christmas was cancelled due to illness, both my niece and nephew came down with the stomach bug (in the olden days, we called it the 24 hour bug). Fortunately they both recovered, but we had to postpone the festivities so they wouldn’t spread the nasty virus.
Our Do-over Christmas was Sunday, January 13 and I made a full Turkey dinner along with stuffing, celeriac and cauliflower mash, Cherry Soup, Cherry Squares and Pumpkin Brûlée mini-tarts! Needless to say, it was a grand success and everyone went home with their bellies filled and their hearts happy. We may have to make this another tradition!
Quinoa Stuffing
Serves 8-10 (yes, I made way too much!)
Ingredients:
- 1 cup quinoa (we had a mix of red and white)
- 100 g celery, cubed
- 50 g roasted chestnuts, roughly chopped
- 100 g onion, finely chopped
- 100 g chorizo, finely choppedd
- 100 g shitaki mushrooms, sliced thinly
- 50 g dried cherries, roughly chopped
- 1 tsp butter, melted
- 1 tsp thyme
- 2 eggs well beaten
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted
Directions:
- Cook the quinoa according to the directions, plus add 1/2 cup more water.
- Melt the butter in a small frying pan, and cook the onions until translucent. Add the mushrooms and sauté until soft.
- Mix quinoa, onion, mushrooms, chestnuts, chorizo and dried cherries together. Add herbs and eggs and combine well.
- Pre-heat oven to 350°F
- Press the stuffing mixture into a well greased baking pan and bake for 30 minutes.
- Top off with the toasted, sliced almonds and bake an additional 15 minutes.
- Serve warm.
I’m not a fan of bread-based stuffing… but this quinoa stuffing looks very tasty! I’m going to try to convince my family to make a stuffing like yours next time we have a turkey dinner!
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Thanks Amber that is very flattering.
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Never had quinoa before, but I’ve seen it cooked all over the web. I love the way you’ve served it up, wishing to try it one day 🙂
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I hope you come back Fati, I have another quinoa recipe to post soon.
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I´m very keen on quinoa, this recipe sounds great, yummy!
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Thanks Katya, you should stay tuned, I’ve got another recipe that will surprise you!
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I´m looking forward for it! 🙂
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I don’t think I’ve ever seen a beautiful presentation of stuffing…until now! This clever quinoa stuffing sounds as amazing as it looks, Eva. Good for anytime, but how lovely that you had your celebration after all.
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Thanks Betsy, it was even tasty on its own and because it has egg, chorizo and the quinoa has a good amount of protein, it could be a meal in itself. But JT poached an egg on top of it and was very satisfied.
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Would you believe I just bought my first bag of quinoa last week. I’m not sure why I ever waited so long. I couldn’t find any farro and it worked as a great substitute.This would be delicious! I especially love how you toasted the almonds for the topping. The devil is in the details. 😉
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Thanks Kristy, it’s quite versatile, I’m posting another recipe soon that uses it in just a toasted form, not fully cooked.
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Fantastic presentation. I will have to consider this next time I have a bird =)
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Thank you SM.
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I’ve really started to get into quinoa lately Eva and this line up of ingredients has got me excited…all the stuff I love.
Sadly I might be off the quinoa wagon after reading articles like this: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jan/16/vegans-stomach-unpalatable-truth-quinoa
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I recently read the article too, it’s sad that business and greed gets in the way like that. I’m pretty sure no matter what we chose to eat builds up the demand and then greed sets in. I’m sure corn was that way as well.
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Great idea for a stuffing, doesn’t get so heavy then. Also, those who don’t like stuffing, can be fooled into thinking this is another side dish. I like it!
Nazneen
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It was indeed very nice to have the extra side fish on the table, made it feel like a feast, that’s for sure. Thank you for your comment.
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Eva, you are my kind of gal, you didn’t stuff the bird, YEY!
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Thanks Zsuzsa. My Mom used to stuff the bird under the skin, never in the cavity as most North American’s do; but this was my first frozen turkey ever, so I didn’t want to risk issues with cooking it.
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I’m so glad that you got to do it over again! It would have such a shame to miss out on this delicious stuffing! 😀
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Thank you kindly Lorraine, the kiddies got a kick out of getting presents again.
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One more fabulous feast, Eva! It’s so inventive and kind to create a Christmas atmosphere after Christmas. The quinoa stuffing looks very intriguing (I have tasted quinoa several times and liked it, but I have never cooked it). Can I say “Merry Christmas!” again?
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Thanks Sissi, apparently we were not far off the date for Orthodox Christmas!
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What a fun gathering. You are always so thoughtful and so detail oriented. Love your table tree.
Your Quinoa Stuffing sounds very interesting, and your plating is so pretty, I would not want to be the first one to dig in, am going to steal your idea.
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Go ahead, Norma, did in and steal away—I am quite flattered.
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I think making this Christmas Dinner a yearly event is a great idea. I bet everyone was well-rested and the evening just flowed along. We all tend to pack so much into a 2 week holiday period that parties are more endured than enjoyed. And putting up a tree for the kids was a great idea, Eva, a nice, thoughtful touch. 🙂
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Thank you kindly John, it surely was a very relaxing evening.
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A great idea for stuffing Eva. Also probably better to have Christmas now when there isnt so much stress.
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Thanks Tania, it was way less stressful, that’s for sure.
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Haha. I love to wear the stupid hats too. Christmas crackers are so much more fun when there are kids around. This Christmas we celebrated with The Koala’s family which included our toddler nephews. He demanded to know what was inside each and every cracker. It was like his new mission in life. I’ve never stuffed a bird with quinoa. Do you stuff this into the bird or serve it on the side?
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Thanks Genie, I actually baked it separately; it was my very first frozen turkey and I wasn’t about to take chances—everyone in my brother’s family had the stomach flu over Christmas.
I usually stuff the bird when it’s fresh (European-style, under the skin and not in the cavity).
Yes, crackers are quite fun, my niece scammed all the toys, every one of them!
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Eek! No doubt you wanted to be careful. I’ve yet to attempt turkey. Turkey isn’t very popular here so it’s super expensive. One of the reasons why I haven’t tested the turkey waters yet.
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It’s very easy, just bake and forget about it. You should try it.
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I would just eat the stuffing! Looks delicious!
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Thanks Angie, we ended up with leftovers for lunches that was very good. My husband poached an egg over it for one lunch and he really enjoyed it.
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Your stuffing sounds very tasty with the chorizo and nuts.
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Thank you very much Karen.
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Orthodox Christians don’t celebrate until much later anyway so I think you were still in the ‘window’ for Christmas. 🙂 Cute tree and table setting as well as your dessert stand. I especially like the blue glass coffee cups.
As to the quinoa, I’ve never tasted the grain so I don’t know if the stuffing substitute hit the mark but I’m betting you pulled it off as usual. It looks like a molded dish from what I can see. Always impressive.
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Thank you Maria, you are always so complimentary. We enjoyed the flavores in the stuffing, but texturally it’s quite different than traditional bread stuffing. I also like the nutty flavor of the grain.
The ‘blue’ cups are actually green soup cups that I fortunately inherited from my MIL. They are a perfect size for the sour cherry soup https://www.google.ca/search?q=depression+glass+soup+cups&hl=en&client=safari&tbo=d&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=GIoCUdrbHaeE2wXz8YCwCw&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=320&bih=361#i=30 (my SIL and kids had seconds and thirds!)
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I should have known the glasses were green to carry on your red and green with gold accents Christmas theme. 🙂 I remember your cherry soup post from a ‘while’ back.
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Thanks Maria, I chose them because of the size, and lucked out with the theme colours fitting.
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Love the presentation of the stuffing, looks really tasty!
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Thank you kindly, Judy.
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Wow! That stuffing looks amazing! You went all out with that Christmas tree aunty Eva!
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Thanks Barb, the kids got a kick out of it! And I needed somewhere to put the pressies!
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I know this post if about the stuffing, but Oh.My.God the Cupcakes! I need to know how you made them. They look delicious.
This stuffing recipe is very interesting and I will try for my next turkey roast. I bet it will go well with that. I’ve never made my own stuffing, I usually use the mix, yours looks like it’s much better. It’s very unusual and I like that.
So you guys have Christmas crackers too? With all the little silly “presents” and the paper-crown hats?
Looks you guys had a great dinner. Awesome post, thanks.
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Thanks Tudor, many of our traditions stem back to the UK; it was only in 1982 that our constitution was brought home! We even have Boxing Day, and on the second Monday of every May, we celebrate Queen Victoria’s birthday! Until several years ago, the courts (lawyers and judges) had to wear those silly wigs! There are lots of ties.
The recipe was very tasty, even on its own (which we ended up eating long after the turkey, as lunches).
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