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ou won’t be surprised to hear it was another week of stressful and busy work so the long weekend glowed like a beacon on Friday evening with promises of yoga, long runs in the sun and some experimental time in the kitchen to blog and relax the mind. I woke to a beautiful sunny day and after a long run to clear the working cobwebs I was already on my way to some downtime. All that was required was some time in the kitchen.

With a stressful period at work keeping 90% of my mind on the task it was time to start planning my second supper club to focus and begin that excitement again! With the date confirmed and inked in the diary I was more than eager to start developing the menu! With just over 2 month before the (second) big day it might seem premature but to get the invites and advert out as soon as possible and the ticket confirmations rolling in the menu was vital. Starter done. Dessert done and obviously featuring ice cream the main needed some attention. With the somewhat limited kitchen facilities and equipment of my cosy, niche and atmospheric chosen venue the dish needed some attention. Ambition needs to be carefully managed and focussed int he right direction.

While flavour is key here using wholesome ingredients cooked from scratch I wanted a menu that would make my potential guests salivate on reading and be booking tickets on autopilot before they could say ‘Deliveroo’! Flavour vital but practicality is also a contender here when cooking solo for 30 paying guests. And in addition economics, aesthetics and style are also important. Factoring all these competing aspects and a love of all things spice this punchy dish was created. I won’t give anything away but the next supper club main with feature something along these lines…

Serves 4

• 4 duck legs
• 1 x speedy dahl recipe (see here) with juice of 1/2 lime added at the end.
• 1 cauliflower, cut into florets
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp of black mustard seeds and cumin seeds
• 3 spring onions, sliced on the diagonal
• Handful of mint leaves, roughly chopped
• Handful of coriander leaves, roughly chopped
• 1 large lime

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Season the duck legs and roast for about 40 minutes in the oven.
2. Scatter the cauliflower florets in a large baking tray and drizzle with a good glut of olive oil.
3. Toss in the curry powder, turmeric cumin and mustard seeds and stir to coat. Add some seasoning.
4. After the duck has had 20 minutes of roasting add the cauliflower to the oven and roast for 20 minutes.
5. Meanwhile make the dahl and set aside to keep warm.
6. Once the duck and cauliflower are ready remove from the oven. leave the duck to rest for a few minutes before shredding the meat into a warm bowl with two forks and quickly squeezing over the juice of the fresh lime.
7. Toss the warm cauliflower in the spring onions and herbs.
8. To plate up, ensure you have warm shallow serving bowls or plates and spoon a generous spoonful of dahl onto the bottom and let it ooz out onto the plate. Top with a handful of the cauliflower before finally topping with a quarter of the shredded duck
9. Serve immediately while still warm and devour! Serve with warm homemade flatbreads or roti if needed.

WINE: This would be great with an aromatic white such as a Riesling or a Gervertz to balance the spice.