This morning, after some porridge, a few errands and a cappuccino, we took the "overground" train to Islington and the Estorick museum.  This museum has a rather small collection devoted to twentieth (and twenty-first) century Italian art. There was an special exhibition of work by Alberto Burri, which I did not find so interesting. The (to me more interesting) permanent collection had cubist paintings by Severino, Balla, etc., and etchings by Giorgio Morandi. Gino Severini was an Italian, from Cortona, who lived in Paris in the first part of the twentieth century and wrote an engaging memoir of his painterly life. The photographs show a few of his paintings.

Afterwards, we walked to a restaurant of Yotam Ottolenghi for lunch. We have read some of his recipes in the Guardian. They are complicated affairs with long lists of ingredients, so naturally we were curious to try them. I had a soup and a plate consisting of 3 salads. The soup was a puree of turnip, pear,  Roquefort, and pumpkin seeds, which was excellent. Salad #1 had roasted eggplant with turmeric yoghurt, crispy onion, basil, and pomegranate seeds. Salad #2 had roasted baby potatoes with samphire [an obscure plant], broad beans, lemon, and pink peppercorns. Salad #3 had roasted squash with cardamon and preserved lemon yoghurt, spicy pumpkin seeds and parsley. In each of these the flavors were not melded, but instead mingled and distinct.  An excellent meal. Mary Jo liked her selections but Alice was not so happy with hers. There are many restaurants and interesting shops in Islington.

Then home for a nap and a short walk on Hampstead Heath. 

Etching of Giorgio Morandi

Picture of Gino Severini

View from Parliament Hill on Hampstead Heath