Add this classic Mabon recipe to your traditional Fall Equinox table. And don’t even hope they’ll be leftovers. 🙂
Filling in the belly and warming in the soul, Mabon harvest stuffing captures the dreamy, cozy season of autumn in one little dish.
Mabon & the Harvest
Mabon is an autumn holiday that roughly corresponds to the Fall Equinox.
It is a celebration of the harvest, abundance, and the fullness of life.
There are many ways to celebrate Mabon. But none so classic as a traditional harvest meal piled high with autumn kitchen staples.
This stuffing incorporates some traditional elements of the North American harvest for a dish that is as rich in meaning as it is in flavor.
Garlic
Garlic is sacred to both Mabon and Samhain.
As a protection plant, it guards the home and the person from dark entities and negative energy, both of which some practitioners believe are prone to crossing over as the Veil Between Worlds begins to thin in the weeks leading up to Samhain.
Bread
The saying “we broke bread together” implies a sense of not just sharing a meal, but sharing it in the spirit of peace and friendship.
Bread symbolizes the ties of family and other closely held relationships.
This gathering of friends and family around the harvest table taps deeply into our ancestral need to huddle together and face the coming months of winter in solidarity.
Celery
In kitchen magic, this root vegetable represents tenacity and mental toughness.
Magically, practitioners use it to enhance mental fortitude without losing the tenderness that makes us human.
Thyme
Fragrant and delicate, thyme is considered an herb of the dead.
The theme of honoring our ancestors and those who have moved on to the next life carries throughout the fall season (culminating most recognizably around Samhain).
In this recipe, thyme reminds us that all things are fleeting and to savor every good meal with friends as precious.
Parsley
Like thyme, parsley is considered an herb of the dead.
Autumn is an optimal time to attend to our grieving and recognize the loss of loved ones. So, we include parsley in harvest recipes to ease grief and remind us that life springs eternal.
Mabon Fall Harvest Stuffing
Ingredients
- 1 loaf stale French bread
- 6 tbsp butter
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- 1 small diced sweet onion
- 1 cup diced celery
- 1 1/4 cup chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 egg
- salt & pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp minced, fresh parsley
- 2 tbsp minced, fresh thyme
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Cut the stale french bread into 1/2 inch cubes and set aside.
- In a medium-size frying pan, melt butter on medium-low heat. When it begins to sizzle slightly, add garlic and cook until fragrant (about 2 minutes) Add in diced celery and onion and cook until tender (about 4-6 minutes).
- Add chicken broth, salt and pepper. Cook for another minute.
- Place the french bread cubes in a large mixing bowl. Pour the pan mixture over the bread, stirring until well coated. The bread should be thoroughly wet, but not soggy.
- Add in egg and stir until evenly distributed.
- Place mixture in a glass baking dish and bake until golden brown on top, 40-50 minutes.
- Sprinkle with minced fresh parsley and thyme. Serve immediately.
