Melt the butter in the largest pot you own over medium heat.

Dice the onion and add it to the pot along with the salt. Sweat the onion until soft and translucent.

While the onion is cooking, chop the celery. Once the onions are soft, add in the celery and let them cook together for a bit.

Dice the mushrooms and add them to the pot once chopped.

Peel and dice the apples. Add them to the pot, then turn the heat down to medium-low and cover with a lid. Let everything sweat down and meld while you work on the herbs.

For each herb, pick the leaves off the stems and finely chop them. The finer, the better.

Add the chopped herbs to the pot and let everything cook together for another minute or two.

Stir in the dried bread cubes until they are well coated with the mixture.

Add about half of the chicken broth and gently stir. Be careful not to over-stir as the cubes can become mushy.

Pour in almost all of the remaining chicken broth, reserving about 1 deciliter (½ cup). Stir gently.

Put the lid on the pot and turn down the heat to low. Let the mixture steam and absorb the flavors for about 2-3 minutes.

Add in the rest of the chicken broth, and the nuts if using, and mix gently.

Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C).

Pour the stuffing mixture into a buttered casserole dish. A 12x9x2.5-inch (31x22x6 cm) dish works well.

Cover the dish with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Remove the foil and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes, or until the top turns golden and slightly crispy.

Serve warm and enjoy!