Stuff that!

I got this recipe ages ago in a Jamie Oliver Cookbook, Jamies Italy or some other crap.

Can you tell I'm not a fan - I find him patronising and irritating, a schoolboy winking at the screen telling me how easy it is to grow your own veg, while in the backround his qualified team of horticulturists spritz his raised beds with evian water...

I cannot stand the enthusuastic babble about trying new things and how easy it all is, with recipes that require stone ovens or huge outside rotesseries - get a grip Jamie... but my ultimate "i hate jamie" story is how, in his Italian cookbook, which incidently is full of hogwash and patronising stories about the darling 'ities'...He mentions in a recipe how you need Small Sicilian Lemons for the recipe, then he footnotes how he doesn't know where you might get them if you don't live in London, he gets his from some small deli, and to leave the recipe alone if you can't get them... Huh? What a dickhead!

Unlike my hero Gordon Ramsay, and my hero#2 Nigella who both make a point of giving you alternatives for any unusual ingredients they use.

However I must thank Jamie for the following recipe which I pull out of the bag for many a dinner party, its easy and looks great! For this recipe alone, I am grateful. Oh and as for your flavour shaker(which is essential for many of his recipes) - it doesn't work at all so there!

Stuffed Lemons

You'll need1 Lemon per person

For each lemon
Half a mozerella ball
3 anchovies (tinned are fine)
2 cherry tomatoes
3 large basil leaves

Slice the top off a lemon, and scoop out the inside (you'll develop a knack by your third lemon, the first two will be hell, plaster any papercuts!)

Stuff each lemon with alternative slices of mozzarella, tomatoes,anchovy, basil until its stuffed! Put the top back on and bake in a hot (220c) oven for about 15-20 minutes. Serve atop a slice of rustic bread.

We had these to start off a great meall, we followed with our pasta of a tomato and butter sauce (very reminiscent of spaghetti hoops, not for me! But if you think you'd like it email me!) and a big steak served with balsamic vinegar which really is the nicest combo! Dessert was tiramisu leftover from the day before!