Today is my mum's birthday and because she doesn't like presents!!! I decided to cook something nice for her. And this time she liked them...
So I'm sharing the receipes here: today Jamie's Oliver Amalfi baked lemons and tomorrow a really nice dessert.
2 large unwaxed lemons, 1 or 2 x 150g balls of buffalo mozzarella, sliced into 0.5cm thick pieces, 4 fresh basil leaves, 2 anchovy fillets, 2 ripe cherry tomatoes, halved, salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat your oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6. Remove the ends of the lemons and discard them, then cut the lemons in half crossways, giving you 4 x 2.5cm thick discs. Now, using a small knife, remove the lemon flesh leaving you with 4 hollow circles of skin. Basically, what we're going to do is flavour the mozzarella and push it inside the lemon skin so that it absorbs the lovely lemon flavour when it bakes. Now the mozzarella is obviously going to melt and ooze out when baked. In Italy, a lemon leaf is placed underneath each one to keep everything in place, but it's fine to use a square of greaseproof paper to do the same thing. So, lay a greaseproof paper square or a lemon leaf on a chopping board and place one of your lemon skin 'wheels' on top. Cut a piece of mozzarella to fit inside, then lay a basil leaf, half an anchovy fillet and half a cherry tomato on top with a small pinch of salt and pepper. Add a little dried chilli if you like. Put another slice of mozzarella on top - the lemon skin should now be filled up. Do the same to the rest of the wheels, place them on a baking tray, and cook in the preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes until golden and bubbling. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes, then serve with some hot grilled crostini. Simply scoop the mozzarella out, eat with the toast and mop up any juices.