Stuffing need not be full of fats

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Typical stuffings or dressings for Thanksgiving and holiday dinners are high in fat and loaded with refined carbohydrates. They are prime candidates for a remake, to offer diners other choices, and the American Institute for Cancer Research has worked out some substitutes.

The following AICR recipes include some easy beneficial changes: they call for the use of whole grains; they avoid sautéing vegetables in a lot of fat; they include a variety of leafy greens or root vegetables; and they avoid the use of additional meat, substituting full-flavored items such as mushrooms, toasted nuts for extra texture, or dried fruits for a tangy-sweet flavor.

Wild Rice Stuffing with Portobello Mushrooms

• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced (optional)
• 8 1/4 cups nonfat, reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups wild rice
• 1 1/2 cups long-grain brown rice 4 to 6 portobello mushrooms (stems discarded), cut in 1/2-inch-thick and 1-inch-long slices
• 1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tablespoon dried sage, or to taste
• 1 cup chopped green onions
• 1 cup chopped almonds or pecans
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Heat a large, nonstick pan over medium-high heat until very hot. (If necessary, a smaller pan may be used, but food will need to be cooked in batches.) Place 1 tablespoon oil in pan and heat until very hot. Add onion and garlic and sauté until onion is translucent and mixture is golden.

Add 4 1/2 cups broth and bring mixture to boil. Add wild rice, reduce heat to simmer, cover pot, and simmer 25 minutes.

Add brown rice and remaining 3 3/4 cups broth to pot. Bring mixture to boil and immediately reduce heat to simmer. Cover pot and continue cooking until both wild and brown rice are barely tender, about 35 to 40 minutes.

While rice is cooking, heat a large, nonstick pan over medium-high heat until very hot. Place 2 teaspoons oil in pan and heat until very hot. Stirring constantly, sauté mushrooms, cooking in batches if necessary, depending on size of pan, so they are not crowded. If cooking in batches, transfer each finished batch to a bowl and begin process again, using a little more oil each time, until all mushrooms are sautéed. When rice is barely tender, mix in parsley, sage, green onion and nuts. Cover and cook on low heat about 5 minutes longer, or until green onion is soft and rice is tender.

Remove pot from heat, uncover and allow rice to cool slightly. Add mushrooms and stir until well combined. Add salt and pepper to taste and more sage, if desired.

Serve immediately or store, tightly covered, in refrigerator for up to 2 days. Reheat chilled stuffing before serving.

Makes about 11 cups of stuffing or 22 one-half-cup servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 148 cal., 5 g fat (less than 1 g saturated fat), 22 g carbo., 5 g pro., 223 mg sodium.

Cornbread Stuffing with Kale and Green Chilies

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 1/4 cups finely chopped (1 medium) onion
• 1 cup finely diced celery (about 2 stalks)
• 2 cups chopped fresh small-leaf kale, or 10-ounce package frozen (see note)
• 1/2 cup minced flat-leaf parsley
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon dried cilantro, or to taste
• 1/8 teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring, or to taste (optional)
• 6 cups crumbled stale corn bread, or commercially prepared corn bread stuffing mix (see note)
• 1/2 cup finely chopped canned green chilies
• 1/4 cup chopped roasted peanuts or pecans
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 3 cups (about) canned nonfat, reduced-sodium chicken broth, heated until hot
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• 4 to 9 whole kale leaves, well washed, for garnish

Preheat oven to 325 F. Heat a large, nonstick pan over medium-high heat until very hot. Place oil in pan and heat until very hot. Add onion and celery and sauté until onion is transparent and mixture is golden. Add kale and stir until wilted (if using fresh) or until hot (if using frozen).

Stir in parsley, thyme, cilantro and smoke flavoring (if using). Cook mixture until kale is bright green. Remove from heat. Place crumbled stale cornbread (or cornbread stuffing mix) in large bowl. Stir in vegetable mixture, chilies and nuts until well combined. Add salt and pepper to taste. Tossing gently so stuffing does not get compacted, and constantly so liquid is evenly distributed, add enough hot broth until mixture is moist but not wet. (Depending on type of stuffing mix used, additional broth may be needed.) Taste and adjust seasonings, if needed. If stuffing seems dry, add more hot broth, if desired.

To bake stuffing, lightly coat a shallow baking pan with canola oil spray and transfer stuffing to 9-inch-by-13-inch pan. Using canola oil spray, lightly coat the dull side of a sheet of foil large enough to seal pan. Cover and seal baking pan with foil (shiny side out) and bake about 1 hour. If less-moist stuffing with a slightly crisp top is desired, remove foil halfway through baking time.

Serve immediately or store, tightly covered, in refrigerator for up to 2 days. Reheat chilled stuffing before serving. When ready to serve, remove stems from whole kale leaves and arrange along sides of serving dish. Spoon stuffing in center of dish so it is slightly mounded.

Makes 7 cups of stuffing or 14 one-half cup servings.

Nutrition information per serving: about 153 cal., 4 g fat (less than 1 g saturated fat), 23 g carbo., 4 g pro., 2 g dietary fiber, 607 mg sodium. (Calculations based on use of a commercial cornbread mix with 2 cups milk and 2 eggs.)