The Hackney Butchers Association

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.

MAY: Asparagus, Broad Beans , Broccoli, Cockles , Coley, Chicory , Carrots, Cauliflower , Cucumber, Cod , Crab, Fennel , Halibut, Herring , John Dory, Jersey Royal , Kohlrabi, Lemon Sole , Lobster, Mint , Mackerel, New Potatoes , Nasturtium Flowers, Radishes , Rocket, Sorrel , Sea Bass, Salmon , Sea Trout, Pollack , Plaice, Salmon , Sardines, Spring Onions , Spring Lamb, Rhubarb , Winkles, Whelks , Watercress. Wild Foods for May… Borage Flowers, Elderflowers , Marsh Samphire, Nettles , Sorrel, Sea Purslane , Wild Garlic, Wild Mint , Woodpigeon. Just found a few interesting things to try with Kohlrabi... Carrot & Kohlrabi salad ( Rick Stein's recipe on the BBC Food website ) (gotta love Rick Stein!) Kohlrabi fritters ( from a blog called 'ahungrybear.com ') Also the leaves can be cooked and eaten as you would with Spinach.  Braised for 2mins on a medium heat with a knob of butter, lid on.  Could be good!

APRIL: Broccoli, Carrots , Cucumber, Cabbages , Cockles, Crab , Cauliflower, Eel , Halibut, Jersey Royal New Potatoes , John Dory, Leeks , Lettuces, Lobster , Lemon Sole, Mint , Mackerel, Mussels , New Potatoes, Oyster , Purple Sprouting Broccoli, Radishes , Rhubarb, Rocket , Rosemary, Spring Greens , Sea Kale, Salmon , Sardines, Salsify , Sea Bass, Sea Trout , Spinach, Sorrel , Spring Onions, Spring Lamb , Whelks, Winkles , Watercress. Wild Foods: Chickweed, Dandelion , Hop Shoots, Hogweed , Hawthorn Berries, Nettles , St Georges Mushrooms, Sea Beet , Morel Mushrooms, Woodpigeon , Wild Garlic.

MARCH: Brussels Sprouts, Beetroot , Broccoli, Crab , Carrots, Celeriac , Chicory, Clams , Cockles, Cauliflower , Eel, Hake , john Dory, Jerusalem Artichokes , Kale, lobster , Lemon Sole, Leeks , Mussels, Oysters , Parsnips, Purple Sprouting Broccoli , Red Chicory and Radicchio, Spinach , Salmon, Scallops, Skate, Swede , Salad Onions, Sorrel , Sea Bass, Rhubarb , Turnips, Trout , Winkles. Wild Foods: Garlic Mustard, Horseradish , Lime Leaves, Morel Mushrooms, Sea Beet, Wild Garlic . I made up a very quick & delicious side-dish/ salad last week with a few Jerusalem Artichokes. Peel & slice into thick coins, then gently fry for 10mins in a few tablespoons of olive oil until caramelized. Stir in a few finely sliced sage leaves & cook for 1 minute more.  Add the juice of a lemon to deglaze the pan, then remove from the heat & mix in a teaspoon of dijon mustard. Season salt & a few turns of black pepper. I had it with some left over pork & some s...

FEBRUARY Brill , Brussels Sprouts, Blood Oranges , Chard, Clams , Cabbages, Cockles , Celeriac, Cauliflower , Duck, Endive , Forced Rhubarb, Goose , Halibut, Haddock , Hake, Jerusalem Artichokes , John Dory, Kale , Leeks, Mussels , Medjool Dates, Oysters , Onions, Parsnips , Pears, Pomegranate , Potatoes, Red Chicory and Radicchio , Parsnip, Purple Sprouting Broccoli , Sea Bass, Scallops , Swede, Salmon , Turnips, Turbot, Walnuts. Wild foods in February: Alexanders , Chickweed, Horseradish , Hare, Venison.   Game birds everywhere can kick back and relax as the shooting season for Pheasants & partridges ended on the 1st Feb. Starting to appear now though are Red Chicory & Raddichio.  Recipes to follow... Also interesting is the arrival of an old forgotten vegetable called 'Alexanders' introduced by the Romans.  There's a link here It's not something I've tried, but is apparently very easy to find if you're anywhere near the countryside.  It i...

January Brill , Brussels Sprouts, Blood Oranges , Cauliflower, Celeriac , Clams, Cabbages , Celery, Chicory , Cranberries, Cockles , Clementines, Duck , Forced Rhubarb, Goose , Halibut, Hake , Haddock, Hare , Jerusalem Artichokes, John Dory , Kale, Leeks , Lemon Sole, Mussels , Onions, Oysters , Pears, Parsnips , Potatoes, Partridge , Pheasant, Parsnips , Purple Spouting Broccoli, Pomegranates , Sea Bass, Salsify , Satsumas, Shallots , Swede, Seville Oranges , Scallops, Turbot , Turnips, Venison , Whelks, Walnuts . Wild foods in January: Guinea Fowl, Hare , Horseradish, Mallard(until Jan 31st) , Partridge (until Feb 1st) , Pheasant(until Feb 1st) , Teal(until Jan 31st) , Truffles , Venison, Wigeon , Woodcock. Pheasants! That reminds me. There's this amazing Rick Stein pheasant recipe that I cook every year about now. The birds roast in a dutch oven on top of loads of bacon/fennel/leeks/carrots etc. & a small number of juniper berries. You end up with an incredible...

Brill, Brussel Sprouts, Carrots , Celery, Cockles , Cod, Coley , Clementines, Cauliflower , Chicory, Clams , Celeriac, Cranberries , Duck, Guinea Fowl , Grouse, Goose , Haddock, Halibut , Hazelnuts, Hake , John Dory, Jerusalem Artichokes , Lemon Sole, langostine , Leeks, Marrow , Monkfish, Mussels , Mackerel, Oysters , Onions, Pollack , Pomegranates, Plaice , Parsnips, Potatoes , Quince, Red Cabbage , Squid, Sea Bream , Skate, Scallops , Sea Bass, Tangerines , Turnips, Turkey , Turbot, Sea Kale , Satsumas, Swede , Salsify. Wild Foods for December… Chestnuts, Grouse (Until 10th December) , Hare, Mallard , Nettles, Partridge , Pheasant, Sea Purslane , Sea Beet, Teal , Venison, Wigeon , Woodcock, Wood Pigeon , Wild Rabbit, Walnuts . Rather wierdly, my daughter is mad on Brussel Sprouts.  There's a fight over lots of other vegetables, but never sprouts.  For years I had bad memories of them from school.  Grey, watery, cabbagey things.... ugghh.  But now I ...