Stuffing is an essential part of Christmas lunch but it so often contains egg, nuts or other allergens (or meat and so I avoid it!). This year we’re having Christmas at home and I wanted to make some veg stuffing to add to the meal, so I’ve been playing around with flavours and binders , and finally I’ve come up with a combination I’m happy with.
These little stuffing balls based on breadcrumbs and are flavoured with onion, garlic and herbs, then given a savoury tang from some soy sauce and a couple of sneaky mushrooms (top hint: don’t tell the kids and they’ll happily eat them!) and bound with mustard. The mustard is the genius feature, you get flavour and punch whilst also binding the ingredients together. If you can’t have mustard then I’d recommend another similar condiment such as horseradish, or perhaps a sauce or even a vegan mayo.
I’ve chosen to make then as small balls and only a small amount, but do multiple as desired.
Egg-free Vegetarian Stuffing Balls
(dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, soya-free, sesame-free, vegetarian and vegan)
Makes 10 mini balls
2 slices of fresh bread, whizzed up into breadcrumbs
1 tbsp olive oil
½ onion
5 sage leaves, finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh thyme
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 mushrooms, roughly chopped
Small handful parsley, chopped
½ tsp soy sauce
1 and ½ tsps. Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper
- Heat the oil in a frying pan and sauté the onion until soft (5-10 minutes), stir in the mushrooms, sage, thyme and garlic and continue to sauté until the mushrooms are well cooked. Taste, season and cool.
- In a food processor, blend together the breadcrumbs with the fried onion and herb mix. Add the parsley and blend again. Add the soy sauce and mustard and pulse until it comes together. You want to keep some texture.
- Form into small balls and place in a baking dish that has been drizzled with oil. Cover the dish with foil.
- Bake at 180 degrees centigrade with foil on, then remove the foil and cook for another 5-10 minutes, depending on how crunchy you’d like them, These also freeze brilliantly once cooked. Just heat from frozen for 10-15 minutes, covered in foil.
