Stuffing

300g breadcrumbs (not the ones that you buy– put stale bread in a blender)

1 onion, chopped finely

2 tablespoons herbs* (fresh or dry, whatever you have)

50g dried fruit, chopped, or grated apple* (whatever goes with the herbs you chose, and the meat)

1 egg

Salt and pepper

Hot, but not boiling, water

25g butter

Place the breadcrumbs, onion, herbs and fruit in a bowl. Add the egg, and a good twist of salt and pepper. Mix. Add enough hot water, mixing while you do, so the mixture starts to clump together but doesn’t become sticky. Stop mixing. Let it stand for 5 minutes, so the bread soaks up the liquid.

Grease a suitable oven tin. The mixture needs to form a layer 2-3cm thick. Spread the mixture into the tin, but don’t press it down too firmly. Just enough to level it out and get rid of any big air pockets. Dot the top with bits of the butter.

Place in the oven with your meat or whatever. The oven temperature isn’t critical, whatever your oven is already set at will be OK, but keep an eye on the stuffing. It needs to be browned, but not burned. About 20 minutes at 220C, to 40 minutes at 150C should be enough.

*Try different combinations. Apple and sage, apricot and rosemary, prune and mint...