Mushroom Pecan Stuffing

My mother has always been ahead of her time when it comes to plant-based foods. Because of her, I’ve been eating tofu since I was a toddler and we had to bring empty ice cream buckets to the tofu factory to get it straight from there. She was making ribs from vital wheat gluten way before any meat substitutes came on the market using it—albeit she only made them once because they required so much kneading (which she got my baker father to do).

My mother raised us on a mostly vegetarian diet way before it was popular. When we went to Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners with my meat-eating extended family, my mother would always bring her own vegetarian stuffing and it soon became everyone’s favorite (even the hardcore meat-eaters). In honor of my Mother’s signature holiday dish, I give you my adapted recipes (because I can’t give away all the family secrets) to share with your family.

Ingredients

6 cups dried gluten-free or whole grain bread, cut into 1 inch squares
2 tsp coconut oil
1 onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1lb/453g mushrooms, sliced
2 tsp sage
2 tsp thyme
Pinch of nutmeg
Optional: splash of cooking sherry
¾ cups pecans, chopped
1½ to 2½ cups vegetable stock
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

In a sauté pan, melt coconut oil and sauté onion and celery for 3 to 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook until browned.
Mix bread cubes, onions, celery and mushroom mixture with sage, thyme, nutmeg, sherry, pecans, salt and pepper.
Add to baking dish and then add vegetable stock. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes covered and then another 30 to 45 minutes uncovered.