SUMMER STARS
June is one of my favourite months for fruit and veg. With the garden blooming, it becomes a place you can sit and enjoy with the first of the season’s offerings ready to pick.
Big bulbs of fennel are one of June’s stars, including the herby fronds. Some people aren’t keen on the aniseed tones of this vegetable, but if it’s paired with the right ingredients, it can be such a joy to eat and not too overwhelming in flavour. On a weeknight, I’ll roast or braise it in a little chicken stock until sweet and tender, or it works very well cut into wedges and roasted with sausages and chilli. Served raw, it has a much brighter flavour which I love. I thinly slice mine and toss it with sweet apple to go alongside my summery crispy pork belly (p104). The crunch and clean flavour is the ideal antidote to soft,
