Stuffing that doesn’t have to weigh you down.

Think of this as Thanksgiving stuffing-lite.

Oh sure, it still has half a stick of butter in it.

But there’s no sausage in it. Nor any milk, cream or eggs. It gets moistened with chicken broth instead.

It also gets crunch from a profusion of pistachio nuts. And it gets a grown-up touch with dried figs that have been macerated in sweet white wine overnight. But don’t worry, they don’t come out tasting overly boozy. The alcohol tempers the fruit’s sweetness and adds a rounded depth. If you don’t have the Mucscat or Essensia called for in the recipe, you can improvise. I actually ended up using Canadian icewine I happened to have on hand.

The recipe is from one of my favorite cookbook writers, Molly Stevens. It first appeared in the February 2007 issue of Bon Appetit.

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