Eating out when single can be frustrating. Don’t get me wrong I have lots of friends who will regularly accompany me on nights out but sometimes, it’s nice to meet like minded people over food. In fact, who knows, it may be the way I meet Mr Right one day. We would have at least one thing in common! That’s where a good supper club is a great way to eat. A group of people around a table in the comfort of someone else’s home enjoying their food and the company of others. I’ve enjoyed many an enjoyable evening at The Drunken Butcher’s home and was excited when the lovely Sue Waxman started her own – Schmalz N Pepper. I finally got to visit a few weeks ago to sample her cooking.
The theme of the evening was ‘Middle Eastern Delight’ which saw Sue’s traditional Jewish cooking style get an interesting twist.
We were welcomed with a ‘Kosher Kosmo’ that had a lovely alcoholic kick and lots of lovely pomegranate seeds to feast on whilst waiting.
These little beauties also welcomed me to the table – soft Israeli dates stuffed with cream and blanched almonds. They were so moreish I could have eaten a fair few of them. I had expected them to be far too sweet for a starting dish but the almond and light cream took away any excessive sweetness from the date.
Sue had warned me to go hungry and, crikey, she wasn’t joking. The first, yes first, starter compiled of some of the most tasty mezze I’ve ever had. And I am a big fan of mezze. The houmous was slightly looser in texture than shop bought versions but the flavours were amazing and I had to restrain from asking for a tub to take home. The tabbouleh had lovely fresh flavours with a good bite from the bulgur wheat. I’m not normally a huge fan of baba ghanoush and would never order it at a restaurant but I think, if this one is anything to go by, I will be doing in the future. Still chunky to give it substance and seasoned beautifully, this was a real hit. The Moroccan beef cigars had a lightly crisp pastry coating that didn’t take away from the spiced beef inside and the falafel was such a hit that several guests asked if they could take some home. The salt cod fritters, in the bottom image, were my absolute favourite. Still soft and juicy, these can so often go dry. The lime added a real freshness to bring out the flavours.
The second starter took us back to Sue’s Jewish roots with chicken soup served with chopped liver choux buns. I’m not a fan of offal but most people around the table had already tried these before and said I would be stupid not to give them a try. Oh my, they were right! The liver had been softened to pate like consistency whilst the light and airy choux pastry gave them a lovely creaminess. The chicken soup is a staple of most of Sue’s evenings as far as I could tell. A fragrant chicken broth with noodles and a matzah ball nestled at the bottom. It’s the ultimate in comfort food and at some point I’ll be asking for a container to freeze for any days I feel under the weather. I am pretty sure it would make me feel better in minutes and Sue would make an absolute fortune making this for delivering to poorly people!
The main was even more of a feast and I was genuinely ashamed at my inability to eat more. A favourite with most guests was the seared beef with rocket and balsamic glaze. The rump steak had been flash fried so still rare and soft in the centre with the most amazingly fruity glaze that had been sweetened with pomegranate. I need more of this in my life especially considering it is fairly clean and healthy! The lamb kofta had chunks of pistachio for added texture whilst the lamb was soft and tender. Unfortunately I didn’t even try the chicken with sumac zatar and lemon but I’ll certainly request this be included on a menu in the future. I hate missing out.
To accompany all that meaty goodness was vast bowls of puy lentil and quinoa salad, Israeli salad and rice with green lentils and crispy onions. Please excuse the slightly blurred images, I’d reached a meat coma at this point and was out of sorts although my favourite was the puy lentil and quinoa. I’m not a fan of either on their own really but together they were much nicer with a toasty bite.
To finish (us off I’m sure) we tried tahini and halva brownies with whipped cream. After all that food you would think these would have been left untouched. How wrong this is, in fact, I don’t remember seeing any left. The brownie texture was light and almost mousse-like with a gentle chocolate kick rather than the intense fudge-like texture you usually get with this dessert. Tea, coffee and syrup poached apricots with cream and walnuts really did finish us off and most of the guests needed a few minutes to recover before leaving.
As with other supper clubs you can bring your own bottle meaning you can pair the food to your wine or just enjoy at your leisure at the table. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a supper club and not enjoyed the company and this one was no different. There were a few familiar faces but I also made new friends. I can’t wait to see them, and eat this delicious food, again. Hopefully I’ll see you there too, I suggest you book early.
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