Cornish produce served in a Mediterranean style

Tonight's Meal was at Paul Ainsworth's Caffe Rojano, this relaxed informal setting has some delicious food ranging in style from Italian to Spanish.

On arrival the first thing one notices is that the clientele are generally younger than that we experienced on the last two evenings. Drew suggested he fitted right in, until I reminded him that he is less than 6 months from being half of 90! Which is old in anyone's book 😂 [Co-pilot's note: I, dear readers, am unsure what I have done to deserve this harrassment tonight, but the Cabin Boy will be reported for subordination to Captain Jack at the earliest opportunity.]

Having discussed the menu and the options we decided to share three starters and have distinctive mains.

Our starters (from left to right in the photo) were that epitome of Spanish dishes - Ham 'n' cheese croquetas, this Dehesa Solana Iberian ham, cut from a traditional Jamonero, with manchego cheese and thyme; that most Italian of small bites a Sicilian arancini with bolognese and Parmesan risotto inside and a truffle mayonnaise; both accompanied by a dish that could come from either nation - Beech-smoked anchovies with a cabernet sauvignon vinaigrettea and parsley.

Each of the dishes tasted just as one would have expected, with the anchovies proving my favourite for there simple tasty sharpness, but the arancini and croquetas being equally delicious. The generosity of flavour which Spanish cuisine evokes for me was clearly evident in all three.

Drew treated himself to a Pizza, long a favourite dish of his, [Co-pilot's note: Pizza, dear readers, is the one true food group in my opinion!!!] this one was called Pizza Diavola and had a Neapolitan style base and tomatoes, mozzarella and salami with roasted red peppers, green chillies and jalapeños on top. The idea of having two types of chilli on one pizza tickled Drew, but the whole thing tickled his taste buds enough for him to be convinced about the idea by the end.

I opted for Sobrasada with Mafalde. The sauce being a rich mix of pork shoulder, fresh basil, chilli, tomato and the pasta being a new one on me, I can name 15 to 20 types without much effort, but not this one. It turns out that Mafalde was named for Princess Mafalde of Savoy, daughter of the Italian Royal Family who became Mafalde of Hesse, having married into the German Royal Family, before being held in the Buchenwald concentration camp by the Nazi's and dying there. The pasta was named in her memory after her death. The Mafalde is a flat, wide shape of pasta with ribboned edges, the ribbons or waves at the edge make a good hook for the thick sauce, so the chef has clearly thought about his pasta before deciding on this one to go with the Sobrasada.

I had what was called a Good Earth Growers salad as a side to my pasta. This was rocket with a cabernet sauvignon vinaigrette and a generous portion of Parmesan drizzled with an aged balsamic vinegar, it sounds simple, but was very tasty.

Drew couldn't resist choosing the Whoopsey splunker for his dessert. This homage to the imagination of Roald Dahl who invented the phrase is a lovely bit of craziness. It involves roasted peanuts, salted caramel, raspberry sauce and

Cornish ‘poppin’ fudge with morello cherries all served over vanilla brown butter ice cream. Drew absolutely loved it and wondered if he might have chosen the 'for two' size given how nice it was.

I really fancied some of the delicious Olavidia goats cheese, but the menu included lots of sweet things that were going to go with it - tortas, honey, fig and almond cake - but a brief discussion with the waitress and I was offered sourdough, which was warm and delicious, instead. This worked really well with this delightful cheese.