Apple, Fennel & Italian Sausage Stuffing

**I partnered with Ontario Apple Growers to create this Apple, Fennel & Italian Sausage Stuffing. Although I received monetary compensation for this post, reviews and opinions expressed are my own.**

Apple Orchard Tour

I was invited to join Ontario Apple Growers on a local apple farm tour with several other food bloggers last week. Our first stop was Wilmot Orchards in Newcastle.

Wilmot Orchards is family-run farm set on a hill overlooking Lake Ontario. We were met by the owner Charles Stevens, his business partner Ian, his wife Judi and his daughter Courtney.

We toured through their acres of orchards, full of trees with bright red apples waiting to be harvested. We got so much information from Charles and Ian about this family-run farm and learned about all the hard work involved in running a successful apple farming business.

 

After we toured the orchards, we were treated to a fabulous local apple-themed lunch at the farm’s Appleberries Café, organized by Judi and Courtney. 

How local apples get to you

Apples such as the ones from Wilmot Orchard are harvested at their peak and immediately sold and shipped to a nearby commercial apple storage facility. Our second stop of the day was Algoma Orchards in Clarington, a family-owned and state-of-the-art apple packing and storage facility.

We were greeted by President and Co-Owner, Kirk Kemp, who toured us around the facility and taught us how apples are processed and stored. A wonderful part of the tour was cruising through the facility inhaling a scrumptious fresh apple aroma!

The apples are first cleaned, graded and sorted, with only the best ones being selected for the consumer. The apples are stored in large bins in a very specifically controlled and cool atmosphere. There is a lot of technology and labour that goes into this storage process and Kirk is right on top of the latest trends. When apples are stored this way, the ripening process is halted so they remain fresh and crisp just like the day they were picked from the orchard. The apples can then be packaged at any time and delivered to grocery stores so you can buy them crisp and fresh. This is how our local apple growers can provide fresh local apples all year round!

We also learned about Algoma Orchards’ high-tech automated fresh juice and apple cider facility. At the end of the day, we were sent home with a huge bag of freshly harvested local apples and a jug of fresh-pressed mulled apple cider. What a treat!

With Canadian Thanksgiving falling in early October and American Thanksgiving later in November, I like to call this period of time “Friendsgiving”. It’s a great time to gather with family and friends to enjoy comforting meals that embrace the harvest season, including the apple harvest.

 
In the mid-1950’s when my parents immigrated to Canada from Italy, Thanksgiving was a new tradition for them. As they adjusted to their new life, they embraced a Thanksgiving tradition in their own unique way and it became part of their life.

The traditional stuffing was not typically in the Italian repertoire of food. I had to figure out a way to make our family fall in love with “stuffing” and make them believe it could be part of our family tradition. That’s when I decided to turn it into an international dish by adding an abundance of Italian ingredients and fresh local apples. Food with an Italian twist would surely please my extended family and friends!

What’s this stuffing recipe all about?

Since apples, fennel and pork all go together beautifully and are flavours my family loves, that’s where I started.

I browned de-cased Italian pork sausages, caramelized chopped onions, garlic and diced fennel bulb (no boring celery here) and large diced unpeeled sweet local Honeycrisp apples. I used torn chunks of Italian ciabatta loaf to absorb the small amount of moisture in this dish and to ensure the bread still stays crispy (no broth in this dish to make it soggy).

The seasonings take this combination of ingredients over the top: dried fennel seeds, Rosemary and sage. To satisfy the Italian palate and improve the dish further, I gave it a good dose of umami flavour by sprinkling it with freshly grated Parmesan cheese! The mixture was turned into a baking dish and baked until golden-crisp. The end result was a baked stuffing with familiar Italian flavours, sweet notes of fall apples, a dense texture and crisp top that everyone loved!

 

I chose local Honeycrisp apples for this dish. I love them because they’re firm and sweet and hold their shape when cooked. There’s no need to peel the apples! Just wash, core and dice them. The red apple peel actually keeps a lot of the apple’s nutrition and gives a little bit of a rosy colour to an otherwise brownish dish. To find out more about other types of local apples and how to use them, check out this guide.

Be sure not to skip the step of grinding the dried herbs with a mortar and pestle. This really “wakes” up the flavours of the dried herbs. When preparing the ciabatta bread, don’t cube it with a knife! Just tear it into random chunks – this gives the dish a rustic look and helps keep the stuffing crisp.

This Italian-inspired stuffing has now become our new family tradition! I hope it will become part of your world-cuisine Friendsgiving gathering too!