Potato & Apple Stuffing

To keep things simple, we’ve foregone the mess of stuffing the bird and opted for a casserole dish. No fuss, less muss, tons of flavour.

• 1/4 cup salted butter
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 5 stalks celery (with leaves), chopped
• 3 Honeycrisp apples, peeled and chopped
• 2 tsp fresh thyme (or lemon thyme)
• 4 tbsp orange juice
• 12 medium-large potatoes, peeled and halved
• 3 tsp grated orange zest
• 1 tsp grated lemon zest
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cracked pepper
• 3 strips of thickly cut bacon, chopped
• 3 leeks, thinly sliced

Preheat your oven to 375˚F, then butter a large casserole dish and set it aside.

Melt the butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onions, and cook them, stirring every few minutes, until tender, (about 5 minutes). Add the apples, celery, herbs and orange juice. Reduce the heat to low, and cook covered until the apples are fork-tender. Set aside.

Boil the potatoes in heavily salted water until cooked. Drain and mash. Add the apple mixture, citrus zest and salt and pepper to the mashed potatoes. Mix, taste and adjust the salt and pepper to your liking. Transfer the mixture to the prepared casserole dish, and cover with tinfoil. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes.

While the stuffing is cooking, fry the chopped bacon in a pan until rendered. Remove all but 1 tablespoon of the fat, and then add the leeks. Cook them over low heat until soft and lightly coloured, then set aside. Once the stuffing has cooked for 40 minutes, remove the tinfoil, spoon the leeks over the top and cook uncovered for 20 minutes more. Serve while piping hot.