Ingredients
Method
- Melt the butter in a frying pan over a low heat. Add the finely chopped onions and cook gently for about 20 minutes, or until very soft. Stir occasionally and keep the heat low so the butter does not burn.
- Allow the onions and their buttery cooking juices to cool.
- Put the breadcrumbs into a mixing bowl. Add the onions, all the butter from the pan, the sage and a little white pepper. Mix well. Taste before adding any salt. If the mixture feels dry, stir through a little extra melted butter.
- Transfer to a freezer-safe container, seal and label with the date and “ready to bake”. Freeze promptly.
- Before cooking, defrost thoroughly in the fridge. Cook within 24 hours of fully defrosting.
- Heat the oven to 180°C / 160°C fan. Grease a shallow oven dish with a little butter.
- Spoon the defrosted stuffing into the dish and spread evenly. Bake for approximately 30–35 minutes, until golden on top and steaming hot throughout. If the top browns too quickly, cover loosely with foil.
Notes
Scaling the recipe: This is a very simple recipe to scale up or down. Double the ingredients for a larger batch, or halve them if you need less. Use a suitably sized oven dish and check that the stuffing is steaming hot throughout before serving.
To cook straight away: Once mixed, spoon the stuffing into a buttered oven dish and follow the baking instructions.
Seasoning: Fresh or dried sage both work well. Add a little garlic or onion powder if you like. Go gently with salt, particularly if using salted butter.
To bake before freezing: Bake fully, cool promptly and refrigerate or freeze within one to two hours. Defrost thoroughly in the fridge and reheat under a loose covering of foil until steaming hot throughout. Add a little melted butter if it seems dry. Reheat only once.