Dominique Fasano’s Paleo Sausage, Apple, and Chestnut Stuffing Recipe

Ingredients for Herbs de Provence Bread

• 4 eggs
• 2 Tbs water
• 1 Tbs apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup of ground golden flax seeds
• ¾ cup of almond flour
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp Herbs de Provence, plus ¼ tsp extra to sprinkle
• ½ tsp salt

Ingredients for the Stuffing

• 1 lb. Sugar Free Pork Breakfast Sausage
• a pinch crushed red pepper
• 1 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 cup of diced yellow onion (1 onion)
• 1 cup of diced fennel
• 1 heaping Tbs of minced garlic cloves (2 garlic cloves)
• 2 cups of diced tart apples (1 large Granny Smith apple)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp rubbed sage
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp ground pepper
• 1 Tbs honey
• 1 cup roasted chestnuts, chopped (this was ½ of a 14.8 ounce jar for me)
• 1 loaf of Herbs de Provence bread (recipe above)
• 2 cups chicken stock
• ½ tsp Herbs de Provence

Directions for Bread

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cover a loaf tin in parchment paper. My loaf tin was 9.25 X 5.25 X 2.75 inches.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, water, and vinegar together and set aside.
3. In another medium bowl, mix the ground flax seeds, almond flour, baking soda, 2 tsp of Herbs de Provence and salt together with a fork. Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients and mix together with a whisk until well combined.
4. Pour the bread batter into the loaf tin and pat the top with a rubber spatula to even it out throughout the pan. Sprinkle ¼ tsp of Herbs de Provence on top of the bread.
5. Cook the bread for 25 minutes. Remove it from the pan by lifting the wax paper and then remove the wax paper before letting the bread cool on a drying rack.

Directions for Stuffing

1. Preheat an oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9 x13 inch baking dish.
2. In a large fry pan over medium-high heat, cook the sausage with a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, stirring occasionally, until it is browned and cooked through, around 10 minutes.
3. Transfer the sausage to a large heatproof bowl or pot and set aside. Add the olive oil to the pan and reduce the heat to medium.
4. When the oil is hot, add the diced onion, diced fennel, diced apples, and minced garlic to the pan and mix. Top with 1 bay leaf, 1 tsp rubbed sage, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper, and 1 Tbs honey, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples are tender and the onions are translucent, about 8-10 minutes.
5. Add the cooked apples mixture to the bowl with the sausage and mix. Add the roasted chestnuts to the bowl and mix.
6. Take the loaf of Herbs de Provence bread and cut it into 1 inch cubes. I sliced it first then cut it into inch cube pieces. Add the bread cubes to the sausage and apple mixture in the large pot/bowl and mix.
7. Then, add the chicken stock to the mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing after each addition. Do this until you have used 2 cups of chicken stock.
8. Pour the stuffing mixture into the greased 9 x13 inch baking dish, and top it with ½ tsp Herbs de Provence.
9. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until the top is golden brown and crisp, about 25-30 minutes. Let the stuffing rest for 10 minutes before serving.