FENNEL

I can trace my love of anise flavours back to childhood, and my nan’s penchant for liquorice allsorts. I don’t think there was a train journey, day trip or home visit with the lovely Doreen that didn’t involve her reaching into her neat camel leather handbag and pulling out a crumpled, depleted bag of the sweets. I always plumped for the coconut pinwheel ones, or the bright, jellied ones coated in little pearls of sugar. Or, failing that, I’d go for the pink and black battenberg-esque ones, with sugary layers that I’d peel and eat before savouring the liquorice logs. Most of my friends were baffled by my passion as they sucked on strawberry laces.

Anise has a divisive quality. Some people have a practically visceral reaction to it – how many of these reactions stem from blurry memories of abusing flaming sambuca, I wonder? Fennel can be something of a ‘gateway veg’ for those dubious of the flavour, as its