7 January - prego and a hot chicken salad

It actually wasn't raining for a change, so we headed out for a bit of fresh air and walked up to the Downs, then on to Prego for Saturday lunch, an Italian place we'd talked about trying, but which is usually just a bit out of walking distance. We were a bit thrown by the menu initially - we'd both had in mind something light, maybe a salad, and everything was looking a bit big and heavy. We both went for pasta though and by the time it arrived, happily tucked in. I had ravioli filled with ricotta and served with beetroot tops and hazelnuts - really delicious and fantastic subtle flavours. Whilst the food was excellent though, the place was so full of families with young children, it felt like trying to eat in the middle of a nursery! I'm not sure if the restaurant is actively family-friendly (it did have a kids menu) or whether we were just unlucky with our timing, but with small kids screaming, often in stereo, as soon as we'd finished our food, we just asked for the bill to escape and went somewhere a bit more peaceful for our post-lunch coffee.

As we didn't get our salad at lunchtime, I cooked a hot chicken salad for supper instead. I marinated some strips of chicken in yoghurt mixed with some ras al hanout for a while, then cooked it on a hot griddle pan. With it we had roast beetroot and butternut squash on a big pile of spinach (to make it a salad!) and I drizzled over a dressing made of more yoghurt mixed with lemon juice and a bit of cumin. The chicken rather stuck to the griddle pan, but once I'd got it off, it tasted really good and with the dressing, it all went together really well. I also roasted a whole garlic while the oven was on which we had on the side - a bit messy to get out of their skins, but wonderfully soft and sweet.

21 December - asian meatballs and ravioli

There was a very small amount of mince left in the fridge from the other night's Italian-style meatballs, so I made it up into some tiny Asian-inspired meatballs for my lunch. I mixed the minced beef with chopped garlic and a very finely sliced lime leaf. I fried them and plopped them into some broth (veg stock flavoured with a lime leaf and ginger) with some sliced leeks and pak choi. Fresh and tasty.

Tris was out this evening, so I went for some simple mushroom-filled ravioli from the supermarket, with creamy sauce poshed up with a dash of truffle oil - fantastic aftertaste all evening!

26 November - Armando's and slow-cooked veal

After a morning's sightseeing, we headed for Armando's, a small trattoria recommended by both the hotel and various websites. It's an unassuming little doorway, just a stone's throw from the Pantheon, and is apparently popular with politicians. We weren't too hopeful about our chances of getting a table on a Saturday lunchtime, but we seemed to arrive at just the right time and bagged the last unreserved table. It lived up to its billing, with a great atmosphere and people-watching and amongst the best pasta I've ever eaten. I had ravioli filled with ricotta in a creamy mushroom sauce, which sounds simple, but was just delicious.

By the end of the day, with aching feet, we opted for dinner right next door to where we were staying at Colline Emiliane, which does traditional Bolognese food. After antipasti of salami and a caprese salad, Tris went for the tagliatelle alla bolognese - well, you've got to give it a try! - which was good, but not remarkably different from mine, to be honest. I had slow-cooked veal with mashed potato, which was great, real melt-in-the-mouth stuff.