Rolled Steel Joists...

It was a fabulously sunny Sunday here in London and a couple of friends and I went to a restaurant near Waterloo called RSJ for a bit of a foodie event. Italian chef 'extraordinaire', Ursula Ferrigno, was hosting one of her monthly Sunday lunches where she creates a set menu - this one being Italian Springtime Favourites. Hosted upstairs in the converted stable building, four long tables were set out so we got to sit with other people and chat - we were fortunate enough to be at the table where three of the people had been in the kitchen with Ursula helping to prepare the lunch so we got a bit of 'inside information' on some of the recipes!

After buying a bottle of wine to share (from an extensive list!), we started off with a wonderful tomato & leek soup - absolutely crammed with vegetables and a hint of chilli oil - followed by broad bean, ricotta & mint cannelloni (on a bechamel sauce), foccacia filled with rocket & lemon pesto, a prawn & artichoke salad (on a bed of lentils - amazing!), an absolutely wicked creamy Italian trifle with marsala and almonds and then finished off with cheese and a slice of pear. Ursula came into the room between courses, had a chat about the food, answered some questions and also gave us all a taste of a very limited edition brand of olive oil she uses (in just about everything, she said!) We were all so full at the end but everything was so fresh and you could really taste all of the wonderful flavours so you couldn't help but finish every plate! Just as well we had only a short waddle back to Waterloo for the train home...

Ursula is so passionate and lively about her craft, it would be a hard heart that would fail to be inspired I think! It was a really great afternoon and I'd highly recommend it - check out the website - http://www.rsj.uk.com/ - for the next dates and if you are in London, get yourself down there...