It’s been a cold and snowy April, here in MN, so I’ve been digging through cookbooks looking for what I would typically consider fall and winter recipes. Move over traditional stuffing, there’s a new dish in town that’s loaded with traditional flavor and combines two holiday favorites into one.

Ingredients:

4 large sweet potatoes, scrubbed and patted dry (about 3 lbs)

1 1/2 cups chopped fresh cremini mushrooms (about 4 oz)

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup slice celery

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 - 15 oz. cans no-salt-added garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained (chickpeas)

2 cups whole grain bread cubes, dried

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1 1/2 tsp poultry seasoning

1/2 tsp sage, ground

1/4 tsp marjoram, ground

Ground pepper to taste

1/4 to 1/3 cup low-sodium vegetable broth

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Prick potatoes all over with a fork. Place in a baking dish and bake about 45 minutes or until just tender when pierced with a knife. Let stand until cool enough to handle.

2. Meanwhile, for stuffing, in a large non-stick skillet, cook mushrooms, onion, celery, and garlic over medium heat about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding water, 1-2 Tbsp at a time, as needed to prevent sticking.

3. In a food processor combine mushroom mixture and chickpeas; pulse until chopped. Transfer to a bowl. Add bread cubes, parsley, poultry seasoning, sage, marjoram, and ground pepper. Drizzle with vegetable broth, tossing just until moistened.

4. Cut sweet potatoes in half lengthwise. Using a sharp knife, score around the flesh of the potato, leaving 1/4-inch shell and being careful not to cut through the skin. Score in a crisscross to make 1/2-inch cubes. Gently scoop cubes out with a spoon. If necessary, cut any large cubes in half to make smaller cubes. Add sweet potato cubes to the stuffing mixture in bowl, gently fold to combine.

5. Arrange potato skin shells in a baking dish. Spoon stuffing into shells. Bake, uncovered, about 25-30 minutes, or until browned and heated through.

These stuffed potatoes are definitely worthy of center stage at any holiday gathering, no matter what the season! For a twist on this almost classic bread stuffing you could add walnuts, chopped small or golden raisins.

Adapted from Forks Over Knives, Fall 2019, magazine.