For this dish it’s a little different than your traditional cornbread dressing, but let me tell you it’s really really good! I’ve never cooked with celery root before and go figure I didn’t find one in the store because they where out so I looked online as to what I could sub and found that I could use jicama. My son loves jicama so it worked out perfect so he could have some of the leftovers. In case you’ve never seen one it looks like this:
All you need to do is peel the skin and then dice it up. You can cut them up and use it with your favorite dip too. So if you are looking to add a little seafood into your meal this recipe is a winner!
Cornbread and Oyster Stuffing Recipe
(Adapted from Chow.com)
2 1/2 pounds cornbread (I made 3 boxes of Jiffy cornbread)
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, plus more as needed
2 cups medium-dice celery (about 6 medium stalks)
1 cup peeled, medium-dice celery root, also known as celeriac (about 1/2 medium celery root)
3/4 cup small-dice red onion
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon celery seeds, crushed
Freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups stock or low-sodium chicken broth
12 fresh oysters, shucked and liquid reserved (I used an 8 ounce container of shucked oysters in the seafood department)
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
Heat the oven to 275°F and arrange a rack in the middle.
Using your hands, crumble the cornbread into pieces no larger than 3/4 inch onto a rimmed baking sheet. Spread into an even layer and bake for 15 minutes. Turn off the oven and let the cornbread dry out inside the oven overnight.
The next day, transfer the cornbread to a large bowl and set it aside. Heat the oven to 350°F with the rack in the middle. Coat a 13-by-9-inch baking dish with butter; set aside.
Melt 1 1/2 sticks of the measured butter in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the celery, celery root, and onion, season with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes.
Add the thyme and celery seeds and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to the bowl with the cornbread.
Drizzle the stock or broth and the oyster liquid into the bowl and stir until completely incorporated.
Fold in the oysters, eggs, and parsley.
Transfer the stuffing to the prepared baking dish.
Cut the remaining 1/2 stick of butter into small pieces and scatter them over the top of the stuffing.
Bake until golden brown on top, about 40 minutes.
