The Hackney Butchers Association

Eaten with some fried fish (Huss and Ling) yesterday, accompanied by piles of home-made flatbreads, Baba Ghanoush, Dukka, and Fennel/Feta Kofte.  Damn good it was too!  This tarator has got a lovely nutty/garlic and lemon/parsley flavour.  It's surprisingly light.  This recipe came from Silvena Rowe's awesome book "Purple Citrus and Sweet Perfume.  It came out a little dry, so I added a good drizzle of olive oil over the top just before serving to loosen it up.  It was loved by everyone. Tarators come in many varieties.  This one is Turkish.  In Albania it takes the form of a cold soup, in Iran there is a similar dish called the brilliant sounding "Ab-Doogh-Khiar" an iced yougurt soup with leek & mint (sounds interesting). Many countries use yogurt instead of water, and leave out the nuts.  In fact, it's hard to see what the common link is apart from the name! Takes 5mins, makes enough for eight decent portions. RECIPE BELOW:

This is very easy & makes an interesting, slightly bitter side-dish.  Good alongside fish, chicken, pork. The recipe below feeds 2 people (1 radicchio) , but could easily be scaled up. 1 hour marinading, 25mins cooking time.

Crispy and delicious. These can be flavoured with any herb or a combination of spices. Good for adults, kids, with anything, even just by themselves with salad. Best eaten hot or warm. I made these last night with too much egg, too little salt & herbs, they were edible but more like bland omelets.. not great as I was serving them with roasted Bream.  It was all a bit weird.  Oh well,  you live and learn! This makes six small cakes & serves 2 people 250g potatoes 1 medium carrot 200g feta 2 heaped teaspoons dill (or other herb) 1 egg Lots of seasoning! Olive oil Peel the potato and carrot and then coarsely grate into a sieve. Squeeze out moisture. Add herb of choice, black pepper and crumbled feta (if using). Lightly beat eggs and add to mixture. Make six flattened cakes from the mixture & fry them in a little olive oil until crispy. yum.

I had a go at these recently.  I small cup of polenta goes a very long way!  You end up with 4-5 cups of polenta...

I was reminded recently about Beetroot Hummous (thanks Leila).  I had been meaning to make some for a while. A lot of recipes seem to mix roughly equal amounts of cooked beetroot and chick peas, with the usaual culprits, garlic, olive oil, tahini & lemon juice.  For maximum flavour use left-over roasted beetroot.  All well and good... but the recipe here is even better!  This recipe is quite different, the flavour comes from lots of toasted cumin & walnuts & garlic.  The slight bitterness of the walnuts with the sweetness of the beetroot makes a great balance.  This is rounded, delicious stuff. It looks amazing too.  It's insanely colorful as seen in the picture above. This has to be tried! RECIPE BELOW:

This is a fantastic way to spruce up lentils.  This is a satisfying dish with bags of flavour, it's very more-ish.  It has lots of cumin, coriander (cilantro) and garlic, so it's always going to be good!  Thankfully there is a little leftover of this batch for tomorrow. Phew.  It reheats really well, so can be made in advance and warmed up before serving.  Once cooked it will lst in the fridge for a few days. We had this tonight with some pan-fried fish, some beetroot, walnut & cannelini puree and some green beans.  It was awesome, if I do say so myself!... Don't forget to season it well at the end of cooking, it massively brings all the flavours to life. Oh, and if you know of any great lentil recipes please leave a comment below.  I'll try them out and post the results.  Thanks. FOR RECIPE CLICK BELOW:

Around October this starts to appear in the UK at the odd farmers market.  I'm yet to see it in a supermarket. It's really easy to cook and has a lovely nutty taste.  Like artichokes, they can discolour once peeled.   To avoid this, drop them into water with a little lemon juice in it, or just rub they directly in lemon juice. FOR RECIPES CLICK BELOW

This is brilliant with grilled fish or chicken. Pictures will follow when I next cook it (which will be very soon... It's very easy and makes a great side-dish of onions without the time of roasting. All in all about 15mins, so good for mid week meals. If you can't get pomegranate molases, you can add a teaspoon or two of brown sugar instead, just keep stirring or it will burn. RECIPE BELOW:

FOR THE MOJO ROJO RECIPE CLICK HERE! GARLIC ALERT!!!!

Dukka is a traditional Egyptian side-dish, but exists across many Arabic countries..  It's usually made from crushed dried spices, herbs & nuts.  It's often eaten with bread or raw vegetables, but can be used to flavour cooked foods too. The exact mixes vary enormously and can include sesame, nigella seeds, coriander seeds, cumin, marjoram, mint & a whole host of other spices.  The flavour can also therefore vary quite a bit!   They are simple to make.  Lightly toast whatever nut your using in a hot dry pan, then add your selection of spices for a minute.  (The smell coming off the pan will be incredible!).  Then blitz in a food processor until it goes to a light crunchy texture.  The whole procedure takes about 5-10mins. This would be something you could make in advance and sprinkle over all sorts of foods for a bit of wow factor. For a sweeter flavour, you can add desicated coconut & ground roasted almonds. The one I made here ...

Both parts of this side-dish are great by themselves.  The frying cooks out most of the pepper taste of the radishes, and makes them far more like a potato.  So this is like crispy potatoes with a slight twist.  They are a healthier option than fried potato too.  Which means you can eat more... bonus! The spiciness of radishes is mostly in the skin.  Peel them if they are too strong.  Personally I love the spice. RECIPE BELOW:

This is lighter than it sounds but is still is a great winter warmer.  You can substitute normal onions, or use leeks & fennel.  HERE'S HOW:

This is a great simple side dish for a roast.  I served it up today with roast chicken, and it was wolfed down by everyone.  It may sound like a lot of mustard, but it doesn't end up overpowering anything.  This can be easily adapted with any fresh herbs depending on what it's being served with. Definitely one to repeat. CLICK HERE FOR RECIPE:

This is a great Turkish Meze dish that can be eaten with bread or other small dishes.  It's also perfect alongside some grilled fish or meat.  It's basically a salsa, but strong and fresh tasting thanks to the pomegranate and sumac. RECIPE BELOW:

Use fresh corn kernels, or thaw frozen ones in a colander for half an hour & then dry them well. Fry the corn on a medium heat with a large knob of butter until golden and nearly popping.  Then season with salt and stir in some finely chopped fresh mint. It takes about 10mins.  Really nice with some steamed fish.

It's part sweet, part fishy.  Deilicious! This is cheap, easy, and very more-ish. It takes 15mins. RECIPE BELOW:

This came from a recipe by Ravinder Bhogal.. It's a bung-it-in-the-oven-job.  Perfect. Dead easy & delicious. This is a great side dish for some simple white fish, a steamed lemon chicken, or just by itself..  It is best served warm or at room temperature, so would be fantastic picnic fodder. Takes 45mins.  (5mins prep, 40mins in oven.) RECIPE BELOW:

I came across this nice use for Boudin Noir sausage.  You can obviously use any blood sausage/black pudding. RECIPE BELOW:

Er.. that's it.  To make the 'umble sprout a bit more fancy, boil or steam until just soft, then toss with butter & a good splash of sherry vinegar.  Salt & Pepper. It makes them taste lighter, fresher,and less cabbage-y.  Mighty nice.

Sweet, garlicky, herbalicious! , these are awesome. HERE'S HOW TO DO IT: