Dried fig & apricot stuffing

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       Title: DRIED FIG & APRICOT STUFFING
  Categories: Stuffing
       Yield: 3 Cups
  
       5 c  Country-style bread
       1 tb Butter
   1 1/4 c  Minced onion
       2    Garlic cloves, minced
   2 1/2 c  Boiling water
     3/4 c  Chopped dried figs
     1/2 c  Chopped dried apricots
       4 tb Minced fresh rosemary
       4 tb Minced fresh thyme
   1 1/4 ts Salt
       1 tb Cracked black pepper
  
   * up to 6 cups; in slices or chunks. Use hard, dry baguette, pain au
   levain, Italian slipper bread or any combination of country- style
   bread, or leftovers from homemade bread
   
   Resinous fresh herbs, garlic and onion, plus intensely sweet fruits
   and country bread, make a sweetly savory stuffing.
   
   Put the bread in a large bowl and set aside.
   
   Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the onions and garlic and
   saute until translucent, about 3 or 4 minutes. Add the boiling water
   and pour the mixture over the bread. Turn the pieces to make sure
   they all get soaked. Let stand for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the
   bread is cool enough to handle and the water has been absorbed.
   Squeeze the bread in your hands, further breaking it down, until you
   form a thick paste. Add the fruits, herbs, salt and pepper and
   continue squeezing to incorporate them into the paste.
   
   Yields about 3 cups; enough to stuff a 7-pound turkey breast or a 12-
   to 14-pound turkey.
   
   The San Francisco Chronicle, November 15, 1995
  
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