Gluten free stuffing!

One of my other contributions to the pot luck lunch for Thanksgiving is stuffing. Seeing as one of the party goes gluten free and I try to avoid it, and because I love quinoa, this seemed like the way to go!....leek, mushroom and sausage quinoa stuffing. The recipe idea comes from good old Quinoa 365 but has been doctored a little.

I quartered and finely chopped a leek and started it frying in some olive oil in a medium sized pot. On top of that I added 2 sticks of finely chopped celery and about 8 cremini mushrooms chopped. Once this had fried a bit, I added about 1 1/2 cups of quinoa and maybe 3 cups of chicken stock. I was meant to add savoury and a bay leaf but in their absence I added a generous pinch/pinches of basil, thyme and rosemary and a few shakes of Worcester sauce, salt and pepper! I put the lid on and let it cook away on a low heat until the quinoa was almost cooked, about 10minutes.  Add liquid as needed, if needed. Turn the heat off and let it sit for another 10minutes.

In a frying pan I fried until brown the meat of 3 sausages. I chose traditional British banger style ones, though mild Italian would be good too or even a breakfast sausage. Just split the skin with a sharp knife and take the meat out of the casing and break it up with your fingers as you drop it into the pan. Fry it until it is brown. Then I took it out and finely chopped it on a cutting board and added it to the rest of the stuffing with a few generous knobs of butter (tbsps x 3 or 4). I made it today and mixed it all together and am letting it sit overnight so that the flavours infuse and hopefully tomorrow it will taste even better.

It is a really good option for stuffing being gluten free and full of protein. It can easily be made vegetarian by using vegetable stock and no sausage. It could also be eaten on it's own as well as it is so filling and wholesome, but I am looking forward to paring it with turkey and letting the richness of the pork and herbs compliment the turkey meat.Yum!