After a long break from this Blog, one that has seen a pandemic disrupt all normal eating and travelling plans, I have decided to once more share food from my own kitchen and from those of the great restaurants we have the privilege to visit.

This week we have been lucky to have a weeks holiday (a well-needed one as I am now 8 weeks into a new job!) and the sun has been shining non-stop. A little too hot today at 31 so the garden is looking a little less than happy…

I asked my new colleagues for some restaurant recommendations and chose to try Trullo, not far from Highbury corner, a small trip on the Overground across the capital. I am really uncertain as to 1. why we have never been before, and 2. why I do not own the cookbook (?!?). What I am certain of is that this will not be our only visit.

Trullo has a small menu, but it was really hard to decide what to choose- and as soon as I placed my order I had food envy of the people on the table next to me! For starters C had the bruschetta (bottom left) whilst I had the beef carpaccio with a horseradish creme fraiche- hugely fiery yet fresh against the peppery seared beef. We then both opted for pasta- C for pappardelle with beef shin ragu, linguine with crab, lemon and chilli for me (right). I haven’t eaten much pasta in recent months (diet…) and this was amazingly good!!! C, who is not usually much of a pasta lover, waxed lyrical about his hand cut pasta as the sauce had such depth, balanced with some parmesan. The weather very much dictated rose and this 2020 Riflesso Rose was just perfect, light, floral and full of strawberries. With constant, cold fizzy water flowing this was a perfect sunny days lunch.

Earlier in the week we made a trip to Toklas, just off The Strand.

Now I wasn’t really sure what to expect as the website looked good but the reason for it being chosen was that C read a review in The Guardian by Jay Raynor where he described the chips as being the best he had ever had….. hence the booking!!! I am so pleased that we did as it was one of the nicest meals I have had in a very, very long time.

Let me take you on a tour, clockwise from top left: crisp white wine on the sunny terrace; starter of asparagus, soft boiled egg and peppers; the chips; my main course of chalkstream trout with bulls heart tomato; starter of yellow bean salad with prosciutto and parmesan; and finally C’s pan-fried lemon sole with spinach and broad beans. I could have eaten every single thing, twice. Really simply, yet delicious cooking. Perfection- and I certainly agree that the chips were good!!!