Darina Allen: Three tasty recipes inspired by my visit to Bristol and Wales

Discovering croquettes in Cardiff and bread in Bristol

I’ll be back for more of that salted focaccia ice cream with extra-virgin olive oil.

Every now and then I go on a little skite to recharge the batteries, find new ingredients, and get some exciting new ideas and meet the makers. Ostensibly, my recent trip to the UK was to visit several of our grandchildren in Bristol and Wales so they too joined us on the voyage of discovery.

In Cardiff we found a restaurant called Thomas by Tom Simmons. Among many good things we enjoyed, were mushroom croquettes with chive mayo and Parmesan and a memorable truffled mac and cheese. In Bristol, Marmo on Baldwin St yielded many memorable tastes of deliciously simple food with exquisite ingredients. I particularly remember an oozing burrata covered with freshly grated bottarga (dried mullet roe) and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.