Italian Sausage Stuffing with Broccoli Rabe and Parmesan

Italian sausage stuffing with broccoli rabe and parmesan, onions, garlic and a zing of hot paprika, (yummm!) Perfect for Thanksgiving.

I took all my favorite Italian ingredients and turned them into stuffing. Sweet Italian sausages, broccoli rabe, onions, garlic (lots), parmesan cheese, and hot paprika for a spicy kick. Tossed all that incredibly delicious stuff with toasted bread cubes and broth and baked it in and out of the bird. It’s rich and savory, spicy, garlicky, crispy edged, highly-addictive…a keeper.

HERE’S HOW TO MAKE ITALIAN SAUSAGE STUFFING WITH BROCCOLI RABE AND PARMESAN:

Cut fresh white bread into cubes and bake in the oven for 20 minutes, to dry them out.

Blanch and chop the broccoli rabe.

Brown the sausages with garlic and hot paprika. Add the broccoli rabe and cook for a minute more. Transfer to a large bowl. Cook the onions and celery in butter until they get soft and start to brown. Add a splash of vinegar and cook some more, scraping up all the browned bits from the pan.

Mix sausage, broccoli rabe and onion mixture with chicken broth, eggs, and parmesan cheese. Pour into a baking pan and bake until hot and golden brown.

I bet most of you have childhood memories of your family’s Thanksgiving dinner and your mom’s signature stuffing. I had no Thanksgiving traditions in my childhood family home. Maybe that’s why I’m constantly trying new recipes. I’m an only child. I grew up in a small apartment in Manhattan with my mother. We celebrated Thanksgiving with friends or relatives, at their houses.

I have only one vivid Thanksgiving food memory from childhood: T-shirt Turkey. My mom made a turkey. She fitted a clean white t-shirt over the bird and poured melted butter over the t-shirt. While the turkey roasted she basted the pan drippings onto the t-shirt. That was supposed to keep the bird moist and tender. I thought the concept was funny and brilliant. I can’t remember anything about how that turkey tasted but I’ll always remember how great it looked in its t-shirt.

To all of you who visit Panning The Globe, I want you to know that I feel very thankful to be able to share my recipes with you. I love what I do here on the blog, but it would mean nothing without an appreciative audience of cooks and food enthusiasts. Thank you!

Here’s the recipe for Italian Sausage Stuffing with Broccoli Rabe and Parmesan. If you make this, please come back and let me know how it turned out. Happy Thanksgiving!

Italian Sausage Stuffing with Broccoli Rabe and Parmesan

★★★★★

5 from 4 reviews

Spicy, flavorful stuffing with sausage, broccoli rabe, onions, garlic and parmesan cheese. Stuff your turkey with it or serve it in a casserole or both.

• Author: Panning The Globe
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hour 10 mins
• Total Time: 1 hour 40 mins
• Yield: 12-14
• Category: Side Dish
• Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients

• 1 (1 pound) round loaf of home-style country bread or Italian bread, crusts sliced off, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 1/3 pounds sweet Italian sausage (4 5-ounce sausages), casings removed
• 6 large cloves garlic, peeled and minced (3 tablespoons)
• 1 teaspoonHungarian hot paprika (not smoked)
• 1 large (1 pound) bunch broccoli rabe: Cut off the thick stem. Reserve the leaves, the buds, and about 2 inches of the tender stem beneath the bud.
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 small red onions or two large, peeled, halved and sliced into thin wedges (4 1/2 cups sliced onion)
• 2 stalks of celery, thinly sliced crosswise
• 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar or sherry vinegar
• 2 large eggs, whisked
• 1/2 cup turkey or chicken broth
• 1/2 cup good quality parmesan cheese, finely grated (I recommend Parmigiana Reggiano)
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Butter a baking pan.
2. Toast The Bread: Spread bread cubes out in a single layer on a shallow baking pan and bake for 20 minutes, to dry it out. Set aside. Turn oven up to 425ºF.
3. Blanch the Broccoli Rabe: Drop broccoli rabe into boiling water and leave it for 30 seconds. It will turn bright green and reduce in bulk. Drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking process. Spread it out on a cutting board and slice into bite sized pieces.
4. Brown The Sausage: Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Cook the sausage for 3-4 minutes, stirring and breaking it up into small pieces with the end of a metal spatula, until it loses all its pink color and starts to brown. Turn the heat down to medium. Add the garlic and hot paprika. Continue to cook, stirring, for 1 minutes longer. Add the broccoli rabe, a pinch of salt and a few grinds of black peppers. Cook, stirring, for another minute. Transfer sausage and broccoli rabe to a large bowl.
5. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in the skillet. Cook onions and celery over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 7-8 minutes, until tender and starting to brown. Add vinegar and cook, stirring for another minute, scraping up the browned bits in the pan. Transfer onions to the bowl with the sausage.
6. Add bread, eggs, broth, and cheese to the bowl. Toss to thoroughly combine. Pour stuffing mixture into prepared baking dish. {If you plan to stuff your turkey, set aside about 5 cups of stuffing and let it cool completely before you stuff your bird. Pour the rest into your prepared baking dish.} Cover baking dish tightly with foil and bake for 20 minutes, to heat through. Remove foil and cook for another 10-15 minutes longer, to get the top nice and brown. Serve hot.