Apple, Herb & “Sausage” Stuffing + a J.Q. Dickinson Salt Giveaway!

Apple, Herb & "Sausage" Stuffing

Mmm… sausage, so good. I practically grew up on the stuff, aka: wurst – thanks to my german parents. The browned buttery bits of spicy stuff was always the best part. Since I had to go fall in love with a long-time vegetarian I’ve been making it my mission to not feel left out at the party. You know, the party that celebrates brown food, e.g. turkey, gravy, sausage balls, etc. Enter: black chickpeas! Where have these magic beans been all my life?! Ok, yes, I know, all you sausage loving peeps are probably thinking no way is a bean going to replace my true love but hear me out: this stuff is browned, buttery and spiced up just right. A few glasses of that thanksgiving wine and you may not even know the difference. Yay! It’s a party and everyone’s invited!

Oh speaking of parties, there’s this internet/friendsgiving/potluck/giveaway celebration going on this week, I feel so lucky to be a part of it! J.Q. Dickinson of West Virginia is giving away some of their lovely salt to lucky winners everyday this week! Why am I so excited about salt/using so many exclamation points?! It’s hand harvested in small batches, the brine is sourced from an ancient, untouched sea trapped below the Appalachian mountains. Pure and local all the way! The current owners are 7th generation decedents from the man that started it all back in 1817, you can see more about that here. So cool! And tasty! It’s soft, slightly sweet and just melts away on your tongue. Ok! Salt! Yay!

For the J.Q. Dickinson 3.5 oz jar heirloom salt giveaway, leave a comment telling me what your favorite Thanksgiving dish is (stuffing, obviously) or just tell me what’s on the menu for tonight! A winner will be selected randomly on Saturday, November 29th.

Don’t forget to check-out all the other tasty dishes on the #jqdfriendsgiving menu!

Apple, Herb & "Sausage" Stuffing
  • Step 1

    Apple, Herb & "Sausage" Stuffing

    Grind up the cilantro, ginger, spicy chilis and salt in your food processor.

  • Step 2

    Apple, Herb & "Sausage" Stuffing

    Next add the soaked and drained black chickpeas and process until you start to see the crumbs stick together.

  • Step 3

    Apple, Herb & "Sausage" Stuffing

    Get two tablespoons of butter and two tablespoons of olive oil all warm and toasty, add your onion and cook on medium low until translucent. Next add the chickpea mixture as well as the rest of the ingredients for the “spicy crumbles”. Let it sit to form little brown crusts, aka: flavor bombs, on the bottom of the pan, stir it up and do it again a few more times before adding the apples and celery.

  • Step 4

    Apple, Herb & "Sausage" Stuffing

    Add the chopped celery and apples. Let them marry with the rest of the ingredients for a few minutes or so.

  • Step 5

    Apple, Herb & "Sausage" Stuffing

    Whisk the egg together with the vegetable broth. I used a fresh loaf of bread, cubed it, then toasted it to dry it out. Combine all the ingredients and place in buttered ovenproof dishes. Top with fresh herbs and bake for 35 minutes at 350F.

Apple, Herb & "Sausage" Stuffing Apple, Herb & "Sausage" Stuffing Apple, Herb & "Sausage" Stuffing Apple, Herb & "Sausage" Stuffing Apple, Herb & "Sausage" Stuffing Apple, Herb & "Sausage" Stuffing

 

Ingredients for the Spicy Chickpea Crumbles  

1 cup black chickpeas, soaked overnight

1 inch fresh ginger

2 spicy green thai chilis

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 handful fresh cilantro or parsley

2 teaspoons vegan Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon tamari or good quality soy sauce

dash of liquid smoke (optional)

1 teaspoon salt

fresh ground pepper

a couple tablespoons butter + olive oil for sautéing

 

Ingredients for the Stuffing 

2 small tart apples

2 celery stalks

1 onion

1 egg

1 generous cup of vegetable stock (homemade is best)

1/2 of a big rustic day-old loaf of bread

1/2 cup toasted pecan pieces

2 heaping handful herbs like thyme, sage, rosemary and parsley

quality salt to taste, like J.Q. Dickinson

 

Directions  

Grind up the cilantro, ginger, spicy chilis and salt in your food processor. Next add the soaked and drained black chickpeas and process until you start to see the crumbs stick together. Get two tablespoons of butter and two tablespoons of olive oil all warm and toasty, add your onion and cook on medium low until translucent. Next add the chickpea mixture as well as the rest of the ingredients for the “spicy crumbles”. Let it sit to cook and form little brown crusts, aka: flavor bombs, on the bottom of the pan, stir it up and do it again a few more times until the chickpea crumbs are mostly tender before adding the apples and celery. Add the chopped celery and apples. Let them marry with the rest of the ingredients for a few minutes or so. Whisk the egg together with the vegetable broth. I used a fresh loaf of bread, cubed it, then toasted it to dry it out. Combine all the ingredients and place in buttered ovenproof dishes. Top with fresh herbs and bake for 35 minutes at 350F.

 

Notes 

J.Q. Dickinson shared a jar of salt with me as gift and also gave me a jar to share with a lucky reader. All opinions are always my own. Enjoy!

Congratulations to Kenan, our JQD Salt winner!

  • Sj Dc

    baked sweet potatoes topped with leftover cranberry sauce, brie and stuffing mostly..sometimes yopped with crispy skin (if there are any leftovers!)

    • http://earthyfeast.com/ Grace @ Earthy Feast

      Cranberry sauce and brie! One of my favorite flavor combinations! So good!

      • Sj Dc

        me too!!! love it..there are times when i just top some sauce over brie and have it as is!
        even fig preserve over blue cheese or gorgonzola is another guilty pleasure!

  • http://cooksophiecook.com CookSophieCook

    I also love those German sausages… so… much… flavour! I’m curious as to what black chickpeas are, will have to try and track them down….

    • http://earthyfeast.com/ Grace @ Earthy Feast

      Oh yes Sophie! It’s all about that flavor! You can find black chickpeas at your local ethnic food store or on amazon!

  • Kenan @ Kitchen 1204

    Grace, what a creative solution to your dilemma! I’ve never heard of black chickpeas–where do you find them?

    My favorite Thanksgiving dishes are cranberry sauce (of the homemade variety) and roasted root veggies!

    • http://earthyfeast.com/ Grace @ Earthy Feast

      Oh yum Kenan, homemade cranberry sauce is the best, I put that stuff on everything for like a week straight! ;) You can find black chickpeas at your local ethnic foods store / Indian grocery. Or here on amazon, for a few bucks more.

  • http://www.mynaturalkitchenblog.com Christine l my natural kitchen

    I’m so intrigued by these black chickpeas and the flavours you’ve packed in! My sisters and I have been grappling with how to create a Christmas (I know – early – but we’re in Canada and our Thanksgiving was back in October so it’s all Christmas-prep now!) dinner that both our vegan sister and our very-not-vegan father would enjoy. I’m going to email your stuffing to them to check out :)

    Even though our Thanksgiving was awhile ago, it’s my favourite holiday and I love that special meal. My favourites are always the sides … definitely mashed potatoes, but also roasted veggies and the pops of bright colours from brussels sprouts, cranberry, squash. All so good!

    • http://earthyfeast.com/ Grace @ Earthy Feast

      Mmm, yes it’s all about those sides! Finding that special dish that pleases all palates and dietary restrictions is always a challenge. Happy holidays to you and your family, Christine and thank you for sharing my recipe! :)

  • http://www.wholenourishment.net/ Katie @ Whole Nourishment

    Gorgeous dish, Grace. I love this black chickpea crumble and the apple, pecan combo.

    • http://earthyfeast.com/ Grace @ Earthy Feast

      Thank you so much Katie!

  • Lauren K.

    My favorite Thanksgiving dish is my mom’s cornbread dressing (aka stuffing). I would love some JQD salt for all of my Christmas baking!

    • http://earthyfeast.com/ Grace @ Earthy Feast

      Oh my! Cornbread dressing sounds amazing!

  • http://www.heartbeetkitchen.com/ Amanda Paa

    friends! and stuffing! and so many thanks. this post is beautiful. i need to get my hands on black chickpeas. i’ve never cooked with them before. there’s so much goodness to this post. xo

  • http://www.heathergnutrition.com/ Heather

    Brussels sprouts are best. Roasted, please. No contest!

    • http://earthyfeast.com/ Grace @ Earthy Feast

      Roasted brussels sprouts are the best!

  • http://mabelandthewoodenspoon.com/ Lindsey Leahy

    Girl! Black chickpeas?! With apples and herbs and BREAD? Delicious. And gorgeous! I’m loving every second of this Friendsgiving.

    • http://earthyfeast.com/ Grace @ Earthy Feast

      Thank you Lindsey! When it’s cold outside I want warm bread in my tummy, it’s just that simple. ;)

  • http://almostgettingittogether.com/ Almost Getting it Together

    My favorite recipe is either stuffing OR green beans almondine… okay, def green beans almondine :)

    • http://earthyfeast.com/ Grace @ Earthy Feast

      Those both sound so delish! Hope you had an awesome thanksgiving Cassie!

  • http://thebriny.com/ jaime : the briny

    this looks so delicious. love your photos. and i can’t get over how awesome this salt sounds! i don’t think i could pick a favorite thanksgiving dish. but i know i’d cry without stuffing, so…

    • http://earthyfeast.com/ Grace @ Earthy Feast

      Thanks so much Jaime! Hope your thanksgiving was awesome, with plenty of yummy stuffing!

  • Lindsey

    French onion homemade soup for dinner tonight. But I cannot wait for sweet potatoes tomorrow!

    • http://earthyfeast.com/ Grace @ Earthy Feast

      I haven’t had french onion soup in forever! Now I want it! Hope your thanksgiving was great Lindsey!

  • http://www.primaverakitchen.com Olivia Ribas

    My dear friend finally I got time to sit and read your post! This recipe looks so delicious. And your photos are so beautiful as usually! This salt looks amazing ;-)

    • http://earthyfeast.com/ Grace @ Earthy Feast

      Thank you Olivia! Hope you had a wonderful weekend!

  • http://www.thepigandquill.com/ Em @ the pig & quill

    BLACK CHICKPEAS, say whaaaaaat? This is almost worth putting on my big girl, bean-soaking pants to make happen!

    • http://earthyfeast.com/ Grace @ Earthy Feast

      Bust out those bean-soaking pants gurl!