Prosciutto & Fig Stuffing

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 300°.
2. Prepare the breadcrumbs. To do this, take fresh bread loaves and cube them. I leave the crusts, but you can remove them if you prefer. You'll need 8 cups. Place the bread cubes on a cookie sheet. Let them bake for about 25 minutes. They'll be lightly browned, so toss them around to get the ones underneath that haven't browned yet. Bake for an additional 20 minutes. You want them golden and brown, like toast. Baking them on a lower heat for a longer time makes it less likely you'll burn them accidentally and helps dry them out. The picture below shows what they'll look like when done.
3. Cut the stems off of the dried figs. Here I'm using figlets, which are smaller. Then, in a non-reactive sauce pan simmer them in the wine for about 15 minutes to plump them. Let them cool, pat them dry and roughly chop them. Place them aside in a bowl with the minced Prosciutto di Parma.
4. Chop the onion, celery and parsley. I use the food processor. In a skillet over medium heat, melt the stick of butter. Add the parsley, celery, salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary and sage and cook for about ten minutes or until the onions are translucent.
5. Place the mixture in a large bowl. (I actually use the tin that I'm going to bake it in because its big and its easier to toss everything together in.) Add the cubed bread and the 1/3 cup of chicken broth. Add the fig and Prosciutto di Parma mixture. Toss and combine.
6. Now you can either stuff the turkey and bake as you usually do. Or, you can preheat the oven to 350° and bake the stuffing in a casserole dish until lightly browned, about 40 minutes. That's what I did here and this is what it looked like when it was done.