Paxo Sage & Onion Stuffing - Makes 6

In Britain, Paxo is not so much a brand of stuffing as the word for it. It sits on the roast dinner plate next to the gravy and the roast potatoes, and most people could not tell you when they first had it, only that it was always there.

You can make stuffing from scratch, of course. It just never tastes like your mum's, because your mum used Paxo. That is why people living in Canada go looking for this one by name.

The packet makes six portions and keeps quietly in the cupboard until the next roast comes round. Stuff the bird, bake it in a dish for a proper crunchy top, or roll it into balls and tuck them round the tin. Whatever survives dinner goes into a cold chicken sandwich the next day, which some would argue is the real reason to make it.

It is usually the first thing into the basket when someone is putting a full British roast together, picked up alongside gravy granules, a jar of mint sauce and something for the Yorkshire puddings.