Nigella Lawson Panettone Stuffing Squares

Nigella Lawson’s panettone stuffing squares are savoury Christmas canapés: panettone blitzed with pancetta, apple, shallot, chestnut, sage and lemon, baked in a tray and cut into little squares like savoury brownies. It makes 48 small squares, from her book Nigellissima.

She’s written a panettone stuffing before (the fruit bread cubed, toasted and mixed with Italian sausage), but says this is very different. Here she sees it not as an accompaniment to the turkey but as something to serve at parties or over drinks, in small squares, like savoury brownies.

As ever, she says, feel free to use the plainer pandoro instead, though she thinks the rich fruitiness of panettone is part of this unconventional canapé’s charm. She served them as party food in her Italian-inspired Christmas special, alongside Parmesan shortbreads.

Nigella Lawson Panettone Stuffing Squares

Recipe by Pinch Perfect

5.0 from 1 vote

Course: Dessert, SnacksCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy

Servings

48

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

35

minutes

Calories

90

kcal

Total time

1

hour 

30

minutes

Nigella’s savoury Christmas canapés from Nigellissima: panettone blitzed with pancetta, apple, chestnut and sage, baked and cut into little squares like savoury brownies. Makes 48.

Ingredients

• 4 echalion/banana shallots, or 2 small onions (approx. 250g total)

• 2 eating apples (approx. 250g total)

• 375g pancetta slices (or rindless streaky bacon)

• 2 sticks celery

• 4 large fresh sage leaves

• 3 tablespoons garlic-infused olive oil

• 200g vacuum-packed chestnuts

• zest and juice of 1 unwaxed lemon

• 500g panettone (or pandoro), slightly staled, sliced

• 2 large eggs

• 1 splash of olive oil, for greasing

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Directions

• Blitz the base: Peel and halve the shallots (or peel and quarter the onions); quarter and core the apples; roughly cut the pancetta. Put the shallot/onion, apple, celery (snapped in half) and sage in a food processor and pulse to start, then add the pancetta and blitz at full pelt until finely chopped. Don’t worry that it’s wet, mush is what’s expected. (You can chop by hand; it just won’t be as fine.)
• Fry: Heat the garlic oil in a wide, heavy pan and fry the mixture, stirring now and then, for 10 to 15 minutes, until softened.
• Combine: Tip into a large bowl. Crumble in the chestnuts, grate in the lemon zest and squeeze in the juice, then tear and crumble in the panettone. Using your hands, combine into a squidgy, fragrant paste. (To make ahead, cool and chill here for up to 2 days.)
• Bake: Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas mark 6/400°F and let the stuffing come to room temperature. Beat the eggs and mix in, then spread into a foil tray or lightly greased ovenproof dish (about 30 x 20cm). Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until the edges brown and pull away and a tester comes out clean.
• Cut: Cool for 30 minutes, then cut into 48 bite-sized squares (or 24 larger pieces to serve alongside a roast).

Notes

• (savoury brownies): Nigella thinks of these as savoury brownies, cut into little squares for canapés rather than spooned as a side. It’s a different idea from her earlier panettone-and-sausage stuffing.
• (panettone or pandoro): Pandoro (the plainer, fruit-free version) works, but Nigella prefers panettone here, as its sweet, fruity richness against the salty pancetta is part of the canapé’s charm.
• (slightly stale is good): Use panettone that’s a little stale, which holds together better and soaks up the flavours without turning to mush.
• (make ahead): Make to the end of combining the paste, then cool and refrigerate up to 2 days, or freeze up to 3 months (defrost overnight in the fridge). Add the eggs and bake when ready. Refrigerate leftovers quickly; keep up to 2 days.

FAQs

Are these sweet or savoury?

Savoury, despite being made mostly of sweet Christmas bread, and that contrast is the whole point. Nigella calls them savoury brownies: little baked squares with the salty, meaty depth of pancetta, the aromatic sage, earthy chestnuts and sharp lemon all cutting through the sweetness of the panettone. The result is moreish and savoury-leaning, with just a background fruity sweetness.

It’s an unconventional canapé, which Nigella clearly enjoys. The panettone brings soft texture and a subtle sweet-fruity note (from the candied peel and raisins baked into it), while the pancetta and sage make it unmistakably a party nibble rather than a pudding. If you find the idea odd, that sweet-salty play is exactly what makes them so good with drinks. They’re a festive, Italian-inspired bite in the spirit of her devilled eggs as party food.

How is this different from Nigella’s other panettone stuffing?

Nigella has two quite different panettone recipes, and she’s careful to distinguish them. Her earlier one (from Nigella Christmas) is a proper stuffing: panettone cubed, toasted and mixed with Italian sausage and stock, baked and spooned as an accompaniment to the Christmas turkey.

This Nigellissima version is reimagined entirely. Instead of chunky toasted cubes, everything is blitzed to a fine paste with pancetta, apple, chestnut and sage, baked firm in a shallow tray and cut into neat squares to hand round at parties, like savoury brownies. So one is a side dish you serve with a fork, the other a finger-food canapé. If you want the traditional spoonable stuffing, that’s the older recipe; this is the party-nibble take.

Can I make them vegetarian?

Not easily as written, because the pancetta (or bacon) is central to both the flavour and the savoury-salty balance against the sweet panettone. It’s what stops them tasting like sweet bread. So this specific recipe isn’t vegetarian.

If you wanted a meat-free version, you’d need to replace the pancetta with something that brings salt and savoury depth, such as finely chopped mushrooms cooked down well, plus extra chestnuts and a good pinch of salt, and accept it will be a different, milder result. The chestnuts, apple, shallot, celery and sage are all vegetarian already. Honestly, for a reliably vegetarian canapé you might be better with a different recipe, as the pancetta really is the backbone here. It is, however, dairy-free as written.

Why blitz everything to a mush?

Because these are meant to bake into a firm, sliceable square rather than a loose, chunky stuffing, so you want a fine, cohesive mixture that holds together when cut. Nigella is reassuring about it: don’t worry about the wetness, mush is what she expects, and the food processor does the work in seconds.

Blitzing the raw shallot, apple, celery, sage and pancetta together finely means they cook down into an even, savoury base, which you then bind with crumbled panettone, chestnuts and egg into a paste. The egg (added just before baking) sets it so it firms up like a savoury brownie slab you can cut cleanly into 48 pieces. You can chop by hand if you prefer, but it won’t be as fine, and the squares will be more rustic and crumblier. For neat canapés, the processor wins.

Can I make them ahead for a party?

Yes, and that’s a big part of their appeal for Christmas entertaining. You can make the mixture completely up to the point of baking (the fried, combined paste, before the eggs go in), then cool and refrigerate it for up to 2 days, or freeze it for up to 3 months. Defrost frozen mixture overnight in the fridge.

When you’re ready, bring it to room temperature, beat in the eggs, spread into the tray and bake fresh, so the squares are at their best for the party. Cut leftovers keep in the fridge for up to 2 days and are nice at room temperature or gently warmed. This make-ahead flexibility means minimal fuss on the day, which is exactly what you want for festive canapés, much like having a black treacle ham ready to carve.

What do I serve them with?

As canapés, they’re designed to be handed round with drinks, so they need no accompaniment beyond a glass of something festive (Nigella served hers at a Christmas buffet with a Venetian cocktail). Their salty-sweet richness goes brilliantly with Prosecco, a spritz or a Christmas punch.

If you want to dress them up, a little dollop of something sharp works well: cranberry sauce, a fruit chutney or mostarda (the Italian candied-fruit mustard condiment) on top echoes the festive flavours and cuts the richness. Cut into 24 larger pieces, they also make a good warm side dish alongside roast turkey, chicken or pork, essentially a modern take on stuffing. On a party spread, set them among other nibbles and let people graze. There’s more on the Nigella Lawson recipes page.