Brown Bread Stuffing with Fruit

Ingredients

• 0.5 cup apple juice 
• 1 pound bread whole-wheat cut into large dice
• 3 rib celery roughly chopped
• 1 cup apples dried roughly chopped
• 1 cup cherries dried
• 1 tablespoon sage fresh finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon thyme leaves fresh finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic thinly sliced
• 1 cup pecans roughly chopped
• 1 large onion red roughly chopped
• 8 servings salt and pepper black freshly ground
• 4 tablespoons butter unsalted plus more for baking dish
• 1 cup vegetable broth 

Equipment

• bowl
• frying pan
• sauce pan
• oven
• baking pan
• kitchen thermometer

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 13 by 9-inch baking dish with butter and set aside.
2. Add the bread in a large bowl and set aside. Meanwhile, add 1 tablespoon of the butter to a large frying pan over medium heat. When it foams, stir in the garlic, celery, and onions, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until just softened, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the thyme and the sage and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
4. Remove from the heat and stir in the cherries, apples, and the pecans.
5. Transfer to the bowl with the bread and toss to evenly combine.
6. Combine the remaining butter with the broth and the apple juice in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
7. Drizzle over the bread mixture and toss to coat.
8. Transfer to the prepared baking dish and bake until golden brown on top and heated through and the internal temperature registers 160 to 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, about 30 to 45 minutes.