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...

I was lucky enough to be given a one-day baking course at the fabulous E5 Bakehouse in Hackney.  That was a year and a half ago... but I finally got around to going last weekend.  Damn good it was too!  A very patient & knowledgeable instructor, Eyal Schwarz, the head-baker took the course. On the day we made Fat Bagels (mine shown above), Ciabatta, a 66% Rye loaf & their signature loaf, the 'Hackney Wild'. The Bagels were made with 100% strong white flour, using a white leven & fresh yeast for a very quick rise.  Poached for 1 min in boiling water then baked. The ciabatta were much looser dough which is near on impossible to shape, hence the sometimes random splodges they became.  Tasty though. I wasn't expecting to like the 66% Rye so much, I thought it was going to be too heavy and strong, but on top of looking totally amazing, it has a very interesting flavour that develops as you eat it.  It's a bread (I'm advised) that'...

This is a very pretty side-dish that works equally well with grilled fish as a lamb steak. It's cheap & quick to make, but looks like it wouldn't be out of place in a bistro.  Not bad for a bit of lettuce! Serves 4 Takes 15minutes Quarter 2 little gem lettuces & toss with a bunch of spring onions & 1 tbsp olive oil. Griddle for a few minutes until seared & golden. Heat 15g butter in a pan. Add juice of 1/2 lime & 1/2 de-seeded finely sliced green chilli. Pout over the vegetables & eat!

This is a bloody good soup!  With a bit of bread, or some toasted pitta, it is a filling meal and a bit of a treat. Sweet & subtly spiced. Serves 4 (Left-overs can be frozen) Preperation time 10mins Cooking time 40mins Ingredients: 2tbsp Olive Oil / Rapeseed Oil 1 large Onion, peeled & chopped 1-2 bay leaves 1 carrot, peeled & chopped 1 small celery stick, chopped 3 garlic cloves 4cm ginger, peeled & grated 2 red chillies, chopped (de-seed if wanted less spicy) 1 tbsp curry powder 1 tsp ground cumin 180g red lentils 1 litre vegetable stock Juice of 1/2 lemon Sea salt & fresh ground pepper 1 small handful coriander (cilantro), roughly chopped Spiced Yogurt: 1 tsp cumin seeds 1 tsp coriander seeds 1 pinch of caraway seeds 1 pinch of cayenne seeds 4 tbsp plain yogurt 1 tbsp olive oil On a medium flame, heat the oil in a large saucepan, then sweat (fry with the lid on) the onion & bay leaves for 10mins until soft. Add the carro...

These are from a Rick Stein recipe & they are damn good.  Crispy & very more-ish.  They are very easy to make & can be prepped in advance by a day if needed, just leaving the frying until you need them.  They do have to be cooked in small batches though,  so not the speediest of dishes.  Worth the wait though. This recipe makes about 20 fish cakes, enough for 6 as a starter, or 4 as a main, along with some home-made green chilli sauce, salad and some nice bread.  These are bistro standard beauties, that seem to be liked by everyone, including kids.  They are good hot, and also warm, so would be great for a picnic too. SALT COD RECIPE HERE There was no point in reproducing it, as it doesn't need any altering, it's spot-on as usual with Rick Stein's recipes! Also worth checking out is BAKED SALT COD WITH PEPPERS & POTATOES . Great comfort food...

One of three Mojo sauces on HBA.  This is the green one (Verde).  It's fresh and delicious. Great with fish, pork, potatoes or steamed greens. Check out Mojo Rojo (Red) for the spicy one.  It rocks! Check out Mojo Hervido (Boiled) for another classic. Ingredients ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted 6 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed 1 teaspoon sea salt 2 cups chopped coriander (cilantro) ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil 2 teaspoons sherry-wine vinegar 2 teaspoons water Instructions With a mortar & pestle, grind up the cumin seeds first, then each of the dry ingredients one by one.  Slowly mix in the olive oil until you have a paste. Then mix with the vinegar and water to emulsify.  It's effectively a thick garlic & coriander dressing. Great stuff!

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: