My friend Lucy and I run a supper club, or rather we have had one supper club and we are going to have another in December. We really are new to the supper club game, very new. We tell ourselves that our naivety is part of our charm, but we didn't feel particularly charming when 3 of our guests failed to turn up after we (naively) failed to take pre-payments. Looking back I'm glad that was the only disaster, no food was burnt, the guests that did come enjoyed themselves and we made a new friend.
The experience was wonderful, we loved thinking up new ideas for our guests and although we had less diners than expected, it was great to share food with other people.
(Here is a little rant, brace yourself). I don't think Supper Clubs are just a reaction to the financial situation, they are a much-needed step away from the main stream. Local high streets, particularly in London, don't have independent restaurants, instead they have restaurants with no soul, menus that feel like adverts and uncomfortable seats. Chain restaurants on the whole don't foster memorable evenings and that is where Supper Clubs are stepping in and filling a void. (Sorry about that rant).
Anyway. We're getting excited about our next supper club (11th of December), it will have a very different feel and menu from our June Alfresco Supper Club. That's the fun of the supper club, thinking up new ideas and practicing recipes on trusted friends before the big night. It's just a hobby really, we don't make any money and we don't have plans to open a restaurant, but it keeps us out of trouble.
This recipe began life as one idea for a starter at December's 'Winter Warmer' Supper Club. It's quite simple because that's the sort of food Lucy and I love. We're not going to serve it at the Winter Warmer after all (it is probably a bit heavy to be part of such a big meal), but if I were going to serve it to guests I would probably tart it up a bit. Mr.F and I enjoyed it in it's simplest form with some garlicky spinach on the side. But if you do want to make it a bit fancier then may I suggest adding something from the following list; a few fried chanterelles, some toasted pine nuts, a shower of hard goats/sheeps cheese, a smear of tapenade under the egg or crispy shallots. Oh and a glass of prosecco, that always helps to make things fancier.
What is great about eggs is that they are self-saucing and it's hard to think of a tastier sauce than egg yolk. Mr. F has dreams of bottling the stuff, more on that another time. What is REALLY great about duck eggs is that they come with a bigger egg and therefore more sauce. Yum.
If you are interested in coming to our supper club then follow this link.
Recipe
Serves 4 as a starter or 2 as a main
1 small parsnip, coarsely grated
1 medium turnip, coarsely grated
1 small swede, coarsely grated
1 large starchy potato, coarsely grated
1 sprig of thyme
4 duck eggs
Oil for frying
- Put the grated roots in a colander and sprinkle them with a teaspoon of salt, place it to one side and make a phone call/pluck your eyebrows/ have a small glass of wine - about 20 mins. After 20 mins squeeze out as much liquid as you can.
- Put you oven on it's lowest setting a put a plate in there to warm up.
- Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Divide the vegetable mix into 4 portions and fry, flattening them with the back of a spatular. They will take about 5 minutes on each side.
- Once they are golden and crispy transfer to the oven to keep warm.
- Wipe your frying pan and clean and fry the eggs however you like them, I know how personal this is and feel free to poach your eggs if you're that way inclined.
- Place one egg on each rosti and enjoy.
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