The Hackney Butchers Association

Thanks to Amazon I am now the proud owner of four new curry books!  Very exciting stuff for me.  I've gone for quite a diverse selection, so it should be an interesting mix of old & new. The first to arrive is a very dated looking book called, "The Curry Secret: Indian Restaurant Cookery at Home" | PaperbackAuthor: Kris Dhillon It was a best seller at some point, but can now be picked up for the princely sum of 1p. Yes 1p.  I'm not sure there can be a better way to spend a penny.  Well, you know what i mean.  First published in 1989, it was updated & re-published in 2008.  Back by popular demand, so it must be good eh? It's written by an Indian restaurant owner & chef who spills the beans on restaurant 'tricks of the trade'. I'm yet to put it to the test but am already learning some top tips.  Loving it! For instance...I love the mint sauce that comes with onion bhaji & popadoms.  I have tried making it at home...

This was a quick mid-week experiment that really worked. Huss is widely sold as an alternative to Cod in Fish & Chip shops,  it's also known as Dogfish or Rock Salmon. It comes from the North Atlantic, Pacific & Mediteranean Seas.  It's a good, firm white fish.  For some reason I'd never bought or cooked it before this week.  After a mid-week bung-it-in-the oven meal for one, I'll now buy it again regularly.  Not only was it very cheap, but there was a lot of fish.  The piece I bought was £2 and could have fed 2 people, if I wasn't so greedy.... On the downside, there is a large spine that runs through the fish, but this comes out in one piece very easily once it's cooked. I will play about with various marinades now I know how easy it is, but the recipe I made up was as follows.. 1inch of fresh ginger, peeled, finely chopped & then crushed to a paste 1 fresh green chilli, finely chopped 1/4 teaspoon of fenugreek seeds, ground 1/4 tea...

I ran out of time the other night with a plan to marinade & BBQ a rabbit.  So instead I tried out a really quick way to cook it up, pot-roasting.  This has the advantage of steaming the rabbit while it roasts, so it doesn't dry up and go tough.  It was pretty damn good if I say so myself! (SERVES 2)  Marinading time: 20mins-24hours / Cooking time:25mins Here's how: INGREDIENTS: 1 large rabbit, or 2 smaller ones 2 handfuls of chopped herbs (I used marjoram & rosemary) 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1 tbs spoon honey 1 lemon, for zest & juice Olive Oil 2 glasses of wine (i used 1 red/1 white) METHOD: 1. Catch your rabbit (old joke...) 2. Joint your rabbit 3. Marinade rabbit pieces in the herbs, crushed garlic, lemon zest & juice, & honey. Season with salt & pepper.  Leave this for as long as possible, at least 20mins, preferably overnight. 4. Brown the rabbit pieces in a casserole dish (dutch oven) over a fairly high heat unt...

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...