Portuguese Stuffing

Apparently stuffing is not very photogenic.  

I love Thanksgiving and it would not be Thanksgiving without my family's stuffing. It is so delicious. Every year we look at each other and say "Oooh! The stuffing is so good!" Seriously, we may even moan a little. I tried to get the recipe from my mother over the phone but it was like pulling teeth. "You know, a few onions, some chicken livers, papo secos, eggs...that's it! Easy." Really, mom! How many livers? Do I rinse them first? Two onions? What?! Four?! Needless to say it took several phone calls.


I have to say it came out pretty tasty. It is not exactly like my mom's but not bad for my first try. It will take some trial and error but this is a good start and the hubby and I were happy with the results. I must warn you it can be a little...ummm...different working with bloody chicken livers if you haven't before, but it absolutely adds to the flavor of the stuffing without being overpowering.

Ingredients

• Four medium to large onions
• Four cloves of garlic
• Four papo seco, aka Portuguese rolls
• Four eggs
• Four chicken livers
• A couple dashes of garlic powder
• A few tbsp of olive oil (my mom uses canola oil)
• 1 tbsp hot chopped pepper (see picture)
• 1 tsp Paprika
• 1/4 tsp Cinnamon or to taste
• Salt

Directions
Roughly chop onions and garlic. Pulse in food processor until uniformly diced. Heat a couple tablespoons of oil in pan. Add onions and garlic and saute until translucent. Meanwhile, rinse chicken liver and place in a small sauce pan with water and garlic powder. Boil until cooked, approximately 5 minutes. Remove livers and reserve water.  Place livers in food processor and pulse for a few seconds. It should be the consistency of a paste. Add it to the onions mixture and allow to cook for about 10 minutes. Add salt, paprika, and hot chopped pepper. Stir until well-incorporated. Remove mixture from heat, place into a large bowl, and set aside.  Soak papo secos in water and squeeze to allow water to spread through bread. Over sink, squeeze out excess water. Do this to all pieces and then break into sections and place in food processor and pulse until consistency of coarse bread crumbs. Add to mixture. Add four eggs to mixture as well as a couple tablespoons of the liver water. Add the cinnamon and more salt. Stir well. In a sauce pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add mixture and saute until browned. We usually make it a day ahead. You can stuff the turkey with it or put it in an oven safe casserole pan and heat in the oven for approximately 20 minutes.