The Hackney Butchers Association

170g lamb, (minced) 1/2 large red onion 2 good pinches of ground cinnamon 2 tbsp toasted pine nuts Salt & ground black pepper Chopped parsley A sprinkling of paprika Serves 4 Prep time: Buy Hummus, or make some by blitzing a tin of chickpeas with olive oil, lemon juice, tahini, crushed garlic, salt and pepper. Add a little at a time until it tastes how you like it... I usually make mine without tahini. Not authentic I know!.. but it still tastes great. Over a low-medium heat, fry the onion in 3 tbsp olive oil until golden & sweet. Remove from the pan, and stir in the ground cinnamon. When ready to eat, get the pan hot, and add the onions & their oil followed by the lamb. Stir it about to break up & when crispy, add the pine nuts & season with salt & pepper. Put the lamb on top of a small plateful of the hummus & sprinkle over the paprika & parsley. Serve with toasted pitta bread. A little goes a long way, so you can get away...

Parsnips are in season from November through to January. A couple of different ideas to go with a roast, or some grilled oily-fish. Mash up some cooked parsnips with a bit of butter or cream & add some ground cumin, chilli seeds & cinammon to taste. Or Peel some parsnips, cut off the thin ends & roast or fry with some spicy paprika/chorizo. Meanwhile, simmer the fatter bits in some water until soft & then puree in a blender with a splash of cream, or milk & butter. Serve the crispy bit on the puree.  It looks and tastes amazing, thanks to the intense colour and flavour of the chorizo. Or Roast up with cumin and smoked paprika.  Not radically different from above I guess...

This is a slight variation on an Eagle Pub recipe. I switched some of the stock for red wine and swapped flageolet beans for broad beans as they are out of season. 1 large rabbit 150ml Olive Oil 1 onion 8 garlic cloves 1 red, 1 green pepper, sliced 4 large tomatoes, roughly chopped 2 carrots, finely sliced 1 small handful thyme leaves 3 chorizo sausages 500g arborio rice 1 bay leaf 150g flageolet beans beans 100g peas 500ml rabbit/chicken/vegetable stock 500ml red wine wine 1 tbsp hot paprika 2 lemons, juiced handful parsley, chopped Prep time: 20mins Cooking time: 50mins This makes enough to feed 8 people.(Tonight I'm by myself, so there's a slim chance that I have cooked too much...) Brown the rabbit in the olive oil on a high heat. Cook the vegetables & herbs in the oil for 10mins. Add the chorizo & once they melt a bit, add the rice. Stir around for 2mins to absorb the oil. Add the stock & wine & bring to boil, then simmer fo...

This is a Jamie Oliver recipe. It's a dramatic roast. I've done it quite a few times and look forward to doing it again. I'm hungry just thinking about it. The main flavours are paprika, rosemary & red onion. It smells incredible as you cook it. Even my kids love it... I always roast up a load of mixed peppers with it & serve up some irony greens. It's great. HERE IT IS... I make lots and then freeze any left-over beans. They make a great instant meal another time. I made amazing pork scratchings by roasting up all the pork trimmings with chilli seeds and dried mixed herbs. I know it's not exactly health food, but worth it...