Recipe

Challah and Wild Mushroom Stuffing With Pancetta

Photo by StrangeLove

This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Thanksgiving Stuffing
Chef
StrangeLove's Notes: Every Thanksgiving my family has challah bread. It is our roll. No Thanksgiving is complete without it, we treasure it over turkey. Last year I made the challah, and it was the first time...
Every Thanksgiving my family has challah bread. It is our roll. No Thanksgiving is complete without it, we treasure it over turkey. Last year I made the challah, and it was the first time I had ever made a yeast bread. They loaves were perfect and beautiful and now I am in love with making it. So I wanted to make a stuffing that uses my favorite bread.Growing up my family was divided into cornbread and traditional sage stuffing sides. I am not a traditional stuffing kind of gir and I dont like the cornbread either. My inspiration comes from a Wild Mushroom Tart from Tartine. This is my stuffing, Hope you enjoy it.

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1 Loaf of Challah Bread without Poppy Seeds Ask a question about this ingredient

Side Note: I make my own challah and for this recipe I only used 3/4 of the loaf, becuase it is so large, if you buy a loaf they are usally a little smaller so use the whole loaf then.
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Cut challah loaf into small cubes and place on a baking sheet in a 250 degree oven until crispy and dry. About 30 minutes
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In broiler in two batches broil pancetta until crispy, when cool break into little pieces , set aside. In a large saute pan melt butter and add chopped celery, and sliced shallots and crispy pancetta. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and saute for about 10 minutes. Stirring ocassionaly.
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While mixture is sauteing, slice mushrooms and set aside. I sliced the French Horns into half and all the other varieties are sliced into medium size. Add mushrooms and Nutmeg, thyme and the salt and pepper to celery and shallot mixture, Saute for about 15 minutes or until mushrooms have shrunk a little in size and are tender.
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Measure 2 cups of stock into a bowl and set aside. In a large bowl add mushroom and bread mixture and toss, pour the stock over bread mixture and mix to combine. Lightly butter a 9x13 pan and pour mixture into it. Do not pack it in. Turn oven to 350 and cook until crispy and warm. About 30 minutes. Test after 30 to make sure it is crispy and perfect enough for you. Enjoy!
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