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Stuffed Christmas onions

• Put the onions in a large pan of boiling water and simmer for 8 minutes to blanch. Drain and cool. Cut a half-inch slice off the top, keeping these 'lids' for later. Using a teaspoon, remove the inner core of each onion, keeping the outer three layers intact. Finely chop the inner cores of 4 onions and set aside.
• Heat the oil in a large frying pan and sauté the bacon, pint nuts and the reserved chopped onions for about 7 minutes, or until softened. Transfer to a bowl; stir through the breadcrumbs.
• Place the eggs, butter, mustard, herbs, lemon and orange juice and zest in a blender and purée to a paste. Stir the paste into the bread mixture and mix well.
• Spoon the mixture into the onion cases and place the tops back on the onions to enclose the mixture. These can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours, if desired. There should be some unused stuffing - use this to stuff the breast of the turkey (see Roast Turkey recipe). Brush each onion with a little extra olive oil and place in a roasting tin - if the onions will not stand up, slice a small sliver off the bottom. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the onions begin to soften and are golden.