Mary Berry’s sage and onion stuffing recipe – Christmas dinner tips and advice from the Great British Bake Off star

FOR me, Christmas is a time for celebration, for family, for laughter and good food.

I remember the times when I used to prepare everything at home – the turkey, vegetables, stuffing and pudding – and take it to Granny’s on Christmas Eve, ready to be cooked the next day.

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Although, these days, most of my Christmases are at home and the young come back to us with their children, so the preparation and organisation doesn’t seem to be getting much less.

So I’ve gathered together my festive recipes and a few snippets of wisdom gained over the years to make your Christmas cooking easier and less stressful.

I wish you very happy cooking, a merry Christmas, and a happy New Year.

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Sage and onion stuffing (serves 8)

Ingredients:

• 450g onions,
  roughly chopped
• 300ml water
• 75g butter, plus extra
  for greasing
• 1tbsp fresh sage,
  finely chopped
• 225g fresh white breadcrumbs
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 190ºC/170ºC fan/gas mark 5.

This is a really good recipe for sage and onion stuffing, which I have been making for years.

It’s wonderful with roast goose.

I prefer to cook and serve it in a separate dish (rather than in the bird itself), which makes it wonderfully golden and crisp.

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Method:

1. Put the onions and water in a pan, bring to the boil and simmer
   for 15 minutes. Drain well.
2. Stir the remaining ingredients into the pan and mix well. Allow to cool completely if you are going to use it to stuff the neck of the goose or turkey.
3. To cook the stuffing separately – which I much prefer – spoon the mixture into a shallow, buttered ovenproof dish and bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until golden and crisp.

Preparing ahead:

Make
 the stuffing the day before, then cover and keep in the fridge. Cook on the day as directed.

Or you can cook the stuffing in a dish, cool it, keep in the fridge overnight
and reheat the following day. The prepared stuffing can be frozen.

Thaw overnight at cool room temperature and cook as directed.

Or freeze the baked stuffing in its dish, thaw overnight at cool room temperature and reheat as directed.