Salad days

It's hard to believe, looking out the window at the drizzle and gloom today, but we had a nice spot of weather last Friday. The sky was a deep blue and there was a good showing of autumnal sunshine too - a perfect day to be out of London and have the chance to do a spot of driving with the roof down!

I spent the late morning in Bishop's Stortford and took the opportunity to meet a friend for lunch at The Lemon Tree, a great restaurant. In fact, probably the only restaurant in Stortford I'd call 'great'! I often pop in here with my husband when we're in town shopping on a Saturday, and we've also enjoyed a few evening meals here too.

On Friday we took advantage of the lunchtime special offer - one course, a glass of wine and a tea or coffee for £7.50. We both chose the smoked trout, anchovy and cheese salad (I can't remember what kind of cheese, but it was akin to parmesan!), which I've had before but just couldn't resist. The trout was perfectly flaky and pink, the anchovies sufficiently oily and salty, with just the right amount of salad leaves, croutons and dressing to bring the whole thing together. I love the coldness of anchovies in a salad - it reminds me of good tapas in Spain.

We both decided to add a pudding, since there was a cup of tea included in the offer! My friend chose a chocolate pavlova with poached pears and blackberries, which I'd had the week before and recommended very highly. The meringue isn't too sweet but is very rich and chocolatey, with the delicious foil of warm, tangy fruit. I ordered apple compte (yes, more apples!) with a spiced syllabub and hazelnut biscuits. The apple was smooth and tart, and the syllabub was like an early taste of Christmas!

The only minus point I can think of is the limited choice for tea - more or less 'normal' or Earl Grey. My hazelnut biscuits would have gone very well with Darjeeling or something else a bit paler. I never understand why restaurants have varieties of coffee but only the one (sometimes two) choices of tea!

But that's another post ... !