Prune and potato stuffing

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180°C fan/gas 6. Put the prunes in a saucepan with the wine or port. Bring to a bare simmer, then remove from the heat. Leave to macerate for 2 hours, then drain the prunes (see Don’t Waste It) and remove their stones.
2. Scatter the bread cubes in a roasting tin. In a second tin, scatter the potatoes and dot with half of the goose fat; season lightly with salt and pepper and stir in the bay leaves. Put them both in the oven and cook the bread until it is golden, about 10 minutes. Remove the bread from the oven, stir the potatoes and continue to roast them until cooked through and golden, about a further 20 minutes. Tip the bread and potatoes (remove the bay leaves) into a large bowl with the prunes.
3. Warm the rest of the goose fat in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the lardons and cook for a couple of minutes until just becoming crisp. Tip into the bowl with the bread and potatoes.
4. Return the frying pan to the heat and fry the onions in the same fat you cooked the lardons in with a good pinch of salt, stirring from time to time until softened (about 10 minutes). Add the celery and cook for a further 10 minutes, then stir into the potato mixture with the apples, parsley, thyme, lemon zest and juice. Season well with salt and pepper.
5. When ready to cook, heat the oven to 160°C fan/gas 4. Spoon the stuffing into an ovenproof dish, trickle over the stock, dot with a little more goose fat and grind over some black pepper. Cook for 35 minutes until crisp and golden on the top. Alternatively, moisten the stuffing with the stock then use it to stuff a goose. Make sure you add the weight of the stuffing to the weight of the bird when you are calculating the cooking time. Don’t overstuff the bird – bake any leftover stuffing in an ovenproof dish, as above, and serve on the side.