WINTER

Southwestern Cornbread Sausage Dressing

If your cornbread is extremely fresh, allow it to dry out a bit before using it.

Serves 8–10

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus additional for greasing pan

1 pound sweet sausage, removed from casing and crumbled

2 yellow onions, diced

2 bell peppers, any color, diced

2 stalks celery, thinly sliced

1 package (10-ounce) frozen corn, thawed

2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, chopped

1 tablespoon ground cumin

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons maple syrup

Salt and black pepper

1½ pounds store-bought cornbread, cut into small dice or coarsely crumbled (about 10 cups)

1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth

½ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

Butter, to grease foil

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil a 9-by-13-inch glass or ceramic casserole dish.

2. Warm 1 tablespoon of the oil in a Dutch oven or a large saucepan over medium heat; add sausage and cook about 6 minutes, until browned, stirring often. Using a slotted spoon, remove sausage to a large bowl. Add remaining oil to the drippings in the pan, still over medium heat. Cook onions, peppers and celery 10 minutes, until softened, stirring often. Stir in corn, thyme and cumin; cook 2 minutes, stirring. Remove from heat.

3. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, maple syrup, salt and pepper. Fold in sausage mixture. Gently fold in crumbled cornbread, broth and parsley. Do not overmix.

4. Spoon mixture into the prepared casserole dish, cover tightly with buttered foil. Bake 25 minutes. Uncover; bake 15 minutes more, until golden brown on top and warmed through.

TIP: Although curly and flat-leaf parsley may be used interchangeably, flat-leaf (or Italian, as it’s also called) parsley has a more pungent flavor. Dried parsley has no flavor at all.