Savoury Elven Stuffing

No Elves were harmed during the making of this stuffing. This recipe originated with my former husband's Great-Grandmother; whose name was Elva, and passed down though the generations. It sounds ridiculously simple, but is anything but plain or bland. It has a unique and very pleasant flavour. I find the amount of butter shocking, and at times have subsituted half butter and half root vegetable stock (carrot, turnip, parsnip.) A nice addition is toasted whole hazelnuts, and some orange zest, which adds further interest but is not overpowering. Other inclusions not tried would be various fruits and nuts, perhaps some oysters or sausage but use a very light hand. This stuffing really stands up well enough alone. Use dark green dried savoury, not something that's been fading away in a spice rack.

• Ready In: 15 mins
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 2  loaves  stale bread, crumbled coarsely
• 1  large yellow onion, chopped
• 3⁄4 cup summer savory
• 1  tablespoon black pepper
• 1  lb butter
• 1⁄2 cup toasted hazelnuts
• 2  tablespoons  orange rind, grated

Directions

1. Melt butter (or half butter/half stock) in a large saucepan. Add onion and cook in butter until translucent. Remove from heat. Add seasonings. Then add stale breadcrumbs. Toss until thoroughly incorporated. Add in nuts and rind, if using, toss again. Use to stuff a 12-15 lb turkey.
2. Prep time is cook time, as this will cook inside the turkey.