Cooking Healthy - Good and Tasty: You can stuff the bird using a recipe that provides a satisfying and healthy side dish

Credit: AP Photo

The soaking liquid from the dried porcini mushrooms plus some toasted walnuts add a complex richness without adding a lot of saturated fat in this recipe for whole-wheat couscous, wild mushroom and leek stuffing.

By: By Jim Romanoff | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: November 18, 2009

To serve a healthy Thanksgiving dinner, the trick is knowing when the indulgence is worth it. Of course, this is somewhat subjective.

When making stuffing, instead of a stick or so of butter, add moisture with other ingredients, such as diced vegetables and fruit. A bag of herbed stuffing mix can be transformed with a mixture of dried cranberries, chopped walnuts and orange zest. Or try a blend of dried apricots, pistachios and chopped leeks. Just saute these ingredients (using only a tablespoon of butter or olive oil) along with the chopped onion and celery you normally would add to the dried stuffing mix.

Or you can try whole-wheat couscous, wild mushroom and leek stuffing. The soaking liquid from the dried porcini mushrooms plus some toasted walnuts add a complex richness without adding a lot of saturated fat.

Whole-Wheat Couscous, Wild Mushroom and Leek Stuffing

2 cups water

½ ounce dried porcini mushrooms

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

¾ cup coarsely chopped walnuts

1 cup chopped sweet onion

2 leeks, white parts only, thinly sliced

8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, plus more to taste

1 10-ounce package (1⅔ cups) whole-wheat couscous

½ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

¾ cup reduced-sodium chicken broth (if baking in a casserole)

1. In a medium saucepan, bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Stir in dried mushrooms, then remove from heat. Let stand for 20 minutes, or until mushrooms are soft. Pour them through a fine strainer set over a bowl, reserving the liquid. Coarsely chop mushrooms; set aside.

2. In a large nonstick skillet over medium, heat 1 tablespoon of oil. Add walnuts and stir until toasted, about 2 minutes. Add onions and leeks, then saute until soft, about 3 minutes.

3. Add shiitake mushrooms, garlic and reserved porcini mushrooms and saute until shiitake mushrooms have softened, about 3 minutes. Set mixture aside.

4. Add enough water to mushroom-soaking liquid to equal 2¼cups. In a large saucepan, combine this liquid with salt, pepper and remaining 1 tablespoon of oil. Bring to a boil, stir in couscous, cover and remove from heat. Let stand for 10 minutes.

5. Uncover couscous and fluff with a fork. Stir in parsley and reserved mushroom mixture. Season with more salt and pepper, if desired.

6. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Coat a 4-quart baking dish with cooking spray. Transfer the mixture to baking dish, then pour the chicken broth evenly over the top. Cover with a lid or foil and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15 minutes longer.

Makes 10 servings.

Nutrition information for one serving (values are rounded to the nearest whole number): 224 calories; 84 calories from fat; 9 g fat (1 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cholesterol; 32 g carbohydrate; 7 g protein; 5 g fiber; 204 mg sodium.