All the flavour of sage and onion stuffing in a tiny buttermilk bread. These little appetizer breads are absolutely packed with red onion, slow-cooked until soft, sweet and translucent and seasoned with lots of fresh herbs.
As a vegetarian, there are few things that appeal about a traditional British roast dinner (no nut roasts for me please), but I can always get on board with some sage and onion stuffing. These sage and onion breads are my homage – delicate little puffs of custardy bread barely holding together the masses of onion and herbs.
They are very easy to make, after caramelising the onions you essentially just stir all the ingredients together and dollop into a mini muffin tin (I used this 24-hole baking tray).
Served with a delicately sweet roasted garlic butter with lemon juice and parsley.
Serve with dollops of roasted garlic butter, the warm bread melting the lovely, garlicky butter.
Sage and onion stuffing breads
Ingredients
roasted garlic-parsley butter
- 2 heads garlic
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 250 g unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 lemon juice only
- 6 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
sage and onion stuffing bread
- 8 red onions finely chopped
- 40 g butter
- 30 g fresh sage leaves chopped
- 20 g fresh rosemary leaves finely chopped
- 80 g fresh parsley with stalks leaves only chopped
- 125 g plain flour
- 125 g whole wheat spelt flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 100 g aged cheddar (even better if it's smoked) finely grated
- 3 large eggs
- 150 g buttermilk
Instructions
for the butter
- Preheat the oven to 200°C. Slice the top 1cm off each head of garlic and drizzle 1 tbsp olive oil over each bulb. Wrap each bulb in a small twist of tin foil and bake at for 30-40 minutes, until the cloves are golden brown and very soft.
- In a food processor, blend the roasted garlic, softened butter, lemon juice, chopped parsley, 1/2 tsp flaky sea salt (1/4 tsp fine salt) and lots of freshly ground black pepper.
for the breads
- Melt the butter in a large frying pan and add the chopped onions with 1 tsp flaky sea salt (1/2 tsp fine salt). Cook slowly, stirring frequently, until the onions are translucent, 20-30 minutes. Stir through the chopped herbs and season with lots of freshly ground black pepper. Set aside to cool.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C. In a large bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients, 1 tsp flaky sea salt (1/2 tsp fine salt), the grated cheddar and the onion mix. Mix everything well with your hands.
- In a separate, medium-sized bowl whisk together the eggs and buttermilk. Fold the buttermilk and egg mixture into the dry ingredients, mixing only until just combined – any more and the bread could turn out tough.
- Using a spoon, divide the dough between the holes of a mini tart pan (I used this 24-hole baking tray) and bake for 15-17 minutes, until set and lightly browned. Try not to overcook, they'll become a bit dry.
- Serve immediately or cool on a wire rack for warming later.
