Lidgate’s Chestnut Stuffing

• 175 g shallots, peeled and chopped finely
• 75 g butter
• 75

Cook the shallots in the butter, melted in a heavy-bottomed pan, with the bacon (keeping the rinds for the gravy) for about 10 minutes on a lowish heat or until soft and beginning to colour. Beat the eggs and add to the chestnut purée to help slacken it, or it will be hard to mix everything together later (unless you’ve got one of those sturdy free-standi