Ingredients:
- 4 Tbl olive oil
- 1 ½ C onion, chopped
- 4 C fresh fennel, chopped
- 2 Tbl garlic, finely chopped
- 1 Tbl fresh rosemary, chopped, or 1 tsp dried 1 Tbl fresh thyme, chopped, or 1 tsp dried 1 tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 medium head escarole, washed thoroughly and cut into 1-inch pieces (about 6 cups)
- 1/2 C dry white wine
- 8 C partly dried or lightly toasted
- 1/2 inch bread cubes, preferably from a chewy sourdough loaf
- 1/2 C pine nuts, lightly toasted
- 2 tsp lemon zest, grated
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions:
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat.
- Add the onion, fennel, garlic, rosemary, thyme, fennel seeds, and salt. Cook, covered, until the onion is soft and translucent, 5-7 minutes. Add the escarole, cover, and cook until the escarole is wilted.
- Add the wine and let it simmer until some of the liquid has evaporated, 2-3 minutes in a large bowl, combine the vegetables with the bread cubes, pine nuts, and lemon zest.
- Season with pepper; toss to combine. The stuffing should just hold together.
- If baking some or all of the stuffing in a casserole, pour 1-2 cups of stock over the stuffing to replace the juices the stuffing would have absorbed from the bird. Bake it covered until heated through, 45 minutes to 1 hour. For a crunchy top, uncover it for the last 15 minutes of baking.