Unfortunately we have had the fox in with the chickens on Sunday night and we have now sadly only got 23 girls left, we hope to rescue some more hens in the near future and make the numbers back up!

If you are interesded in getting some more infomation on ex-battery chickens then follow this link: British Hen Welfare Socity

• 2lb leg of lamb, boned and diced
• Cooking oil
• 4 bay leaves
• 6 green cardamom pods
• 6 Cloves
• 4 Cloves or garlic
• Cinnamon stick
• A finely diced onion
• 6cm lump of root ginger
• 150ml yoghurt
• 200ml water
• 1 tsp Fennel seeds
• 2 tsp Cumin
• 2 tsp Corriander
• 1-2 tsp chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 4 tsp smoked paprika

1. Brown the lamb in batches in the very hot oil.
2. Add the onions to the empty pan with the bay, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom and lightly brown the onion.
3. Meanwhile, blend the garlic, ginger, yoghurt together add the water, a little salt and rest the chilli powder on top of the mixture, set aside.
4. Grind the fennel seeds and add them to the cumin and coriander and add to the onions in the pan, cook hard for 1 minute.
5. Add the lamb and the juices to to the pan; combine the ingredients well.
6. Now add the yoghurt mixture, bring to a gentle simmer, cover and cook for 90 minutes, if not more.
7. When it’s ready to serve, the final touch is to stir in the garam and paprika, make sure it’s warm and serve.

Now compare that to a take away.

Enjoy.

• 3 rashers smoky bacon, shredded.
• 3 spring onions , white and green separated and shredded
• 100g frozen peas
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 4 tsp cornflour
• 400ml vegetable stock
• 2 150g blocks straight-to-wok thin noodles (or dried ones cooked)
• Some cubes of bread coated in oil & salt and baked slowly to make croutons
• splash of Hendersons Relish

1. Fry the bacon for a few minutes.
2. Add the white parts of the spring onions, peas and paprika, then cook for 1 minute more.
3. Mix the cornflour with a little of the stock to get a paste, then stir this into the pan with the rest of the stock, noodles and a good splash of Hendersons. Simmer for a couple of minutes until thick and syrupy.
4. Scatter with the green parts of spring onion croutons.

…4 floury spuds and one onion peeled, grated and squeezed out in a tea towel to get rid of the moisture, mixed with a beaten egg, salt & fresh green pepper, made into patties and then fried 2-3 mins either side in (nearly smoking) hot olive oil.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3430/3823581266_9f77ed009d_m.jpg

The recipe is simple, you will need:

• 3-4 medium potatoes cooked in their skin and left to go cold
• 75g Pork dripping, goose fat or any other decent oil (use less if you like)
• 2 tsp black peppercorns coarsely cracked
• 1 tsp sea salt
• A good handful of frozen peas (optional)
• Small bunch of coriander (or parsley)

Now…

1. Preheat the oven to high, just like you would for roasties
2. When the oven’s hot, add the oil in a roasting tray to heat it up
3. Meanwhile peel and dice the cold otatoes into 1-inch cubes
4. Bring out the hot oil and place it on a burner on the hob to maintain the heat, add the potatoes and mix well to cover them all in fat.
5. place in the over for 5 minutes until they begin to form a very light crust
6. Then remove and (again on a burner) add the pepper and mix gently
7. Cook for about 25 minutes on a very high heat or until they are crispy
8. Just before they’re ready, blanch the peas in boiling water for two minutes
9. Remove spuds from oven, place on kitchen paper – add the salt
10. Drain the peas, chop the herbs and add them just before serving.

This dish can also be cooked in a large frying pan or wok instead of the oven.