Spiced Cranberry, bacon and walnut stuffing

Stuffing is arguably the best part of the roast dinner. This delicious spiced stuffing can be used to stuff inside your bird or made in a oven proof dish separately. The advantage of preparing it separately is that you can make enough for all your guests rather than relying on the cavity space of the bird and gives you the option of making more than one stuffing to accompany your bird.

½ Tsp Allspice, organic
½ Tsp Whole Nutmeg, organic
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
6 rashers good-quality bacon, sliced into thin strips
3 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
2 sticks of celery, trimmed and finely chopped
a sprig of fresh rosemary, leaves picked and chopped
a large handful of dried cranberries
400ml dry cider
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
a handful of chopped walnuts
zest of 1 orange
300g good-quality pork sausage meat
1 egg, free-range or organic
60g of breadcrumbs
4kg, free-range or organic
100g softened butter

Melt the unsalted butter in a saucepan and add the bacon, shallots, celery and rosemary. Cook gently with the lid on for about 10 minutes, until the vegetables are very soft, but not coloured. Add the cranberries and half the cider and turn up the heat a little. When the liquid has reduced to a third of its volume, set it aside to cool. Mix in the nutmeg, allspice, some salt and pepper, the walnuts, orange zest, sausage meat and egg, then fold in the breadcrumbs.

Place the stuffing in an oven proof dish and pop into the oven for the last 45mins of cooking time of your chosen bird.

Tip: to ensure that the stiffing remains moist, spoon over a couple of tablespoons of the roast bird juices to add both flavour and moisture to the separately prepared stuffing.

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