The holidays are coming. The usual suspects arrive at almost every Thanksgiving table: turkey, cranberry sauce, pie, and stuffing.
The starchy, savory mixture complements its counterparts so well, it’d be natural to imagine the first pilgrims serving up an early version. But the history behind it takes a much older and surprising route.
The world’s oldest known cookbook, the ancient Roman De Re Coquinaria by Marcus Gavius Apicius (A.D. 14–37), contains the first documented stuffing recipe. The old-world version calls for a seasoned pumpkin to stuff into a raw chicken; another stuffs mashed, seasoned taro that’s been boiled or steamed. Taro, as a starchy plant, readily absorbs fats and juices, making it the perfect stuffing.
So the next time you pass the stuffing, remember you’re participating in a culinary tradition that spans continents and millennia—one that connects your Thanksgiving table to ancient Roman feasts in ways the pilgrims never could have imagined.
Recipe: Pumpkin Stuffing with Herbs, Sausage, and Couscous
1 cup diced pumpkin (from 1 whole small pumpkin)
½ pound Autumn Olive Farm sweet Italian sausage (or brand of your choice)
1 tablespoons butter, melted
1½ cups diced yellow onions, preferably Vidalia
1½ cups diced celery
¼ cup finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
¼ cup finely chopped sage leaves
¼ cup chopped parsley
Salt and cracked black pepper
2½ cups stale bread (challah, French, or sourdough are good options)
½ cup couscous, uncooked
1 egg, beaten
½ cup chicken stock
Preheat the oven to 425℉ degrees.
Cut pumpkin in half, and then cut each half into several pieces. Season with salt and pepper, then place the pumpkin pieces on a baking sheet and roast until tender, about 30 minutes.
Let cool, peel away skin, and dice. Set aside.
Lower oven temperature to 350℉ degrees.
While pumpkin is cooking, in a large skillet, brown sausage, crumbling as you go, until it’s thoroughly cooked.
Remove sausage from skillet into a bowl, reserving 2 tablespoons of grease in skillet. Set aside.
Add diced onion and celery to the sausage skillet and saute over medium heat until tender, about 5–10 minutes.
Add chopped, thyme, sage, and parsley to skillet and saute for an additional 5–10 minutes or until tender.
Season vegetable mixture to taste with salt and cracked black pepper.
Meanwhile, crumble the stale bread into a large bowl.
Add sauteed vegetable mixture to the bread crumbs.
Stir in 1 tablespoon melted butter, sausage, beaten egg, couscous, and roasted pumpkin and mix well.
Then add the chicken stock and mix well so that all ingredients are well-coated and moist.
Transfer stuffing into a medium-sized casserole dish. Bake for 45 minutes.
Serve and enjoy!
This article originally appeared in the December 2025 issue.
