Caramelised fennel, potato & lemon pissaladière

Pissaladière is a classic French bread-based tart, usually topped with caramelised onions, anchovies and black olives. I’ve replaced the onion with fennel, but you need to cook it in the same way as you would the onions; low and slow until sweet and meltingly tender. Slice the lemon nice and thin for the top. It will caramelise and add a deep citrussy flavour to the tart.

SERVES 8 PREP 20 mins plus at least 1 hr 30 mins resting COOK 1 hr EASY G

For the base

350g strong white bread flour

½ tsp caster sugar

1 tsp fast-action dried yeast

1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for the tin For the topping

3 tbsp olive oil

2 x 80g jar anchovies in olive oil 3 large or 4 small fennel bulbs, halved and finely sliced

1 tbsp light brown sugar

½ tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 tsp fennel seeds

200g Jersey Royal new potatoes, sliced as thick as £1 coins

1 small lemon, sliced as thinly as you can 1 Weigh the flour in a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer. Add 11/2 tsp salt, the sugar and the yeast and stir to combine. Pour in 200ml warm water and the oil and mix until you form a soft dough – it might feel a little sticky but don’t be tempted to add more flour until it’s been kneaded. Knead for 10 mins by hand, or 5-7 mins in a mixer (the dough will be less sticky and bouncier when it’s ready). Put it back in a clean, oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel and set aside to rise for an hour or two (depending on the temperature in the kitchen.)

2 Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan or casserole dish. Add a good splash of the oil from one of the jars of anchovies too. Add the fennel, sugar, vinegar, fennel seeds and a splash water and cover the dish with a lid. Cook over a low heat for 10 mins, remove the lid and continue to cook, stirring every so often, until it’s really soft and caramelised. This can take up to 30 mins so be patient. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.

3 Cook the potatoes in a pan of boiling water for

2-3 mins. You want them to just start softening, but not cook all the way through. Drain and leave to steam-dry in the colander.

4 When the dough has doubled in size, tip it onto your work surface and give it a few kneads and folds to knock out some air. Oil a large roasting tin (ours was 24cm x 38cm) and roll the dough out to almost fill it, leaving a little space for it to rise. Spread the cooked fennel over the dough, leaving a little border around the edge. Arrange the anchovy fillets in a diamond pattern on top, then fill the spaces with overlapping slices of potato and lemon. Sprinkle the potatoes and lemon with some sea salt and the whole tart with black pepper, then drizzle generously with the remaining oil from one of the anchovy jars. Cover lightly with cling film and leave to rise for another 30 mins-1 hr until the dough has puffed up and filled the tin. Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. 5 If you gently press the dough and it doesn’t bounce back, it’s ready. Bake for 25-30 mins. Serve warm, cold or reheated, cut into squares.

GOOD TO KNOW folate • 1 of 5-a-day

PER SERVING 281 kcals • fat 7g • saturates 1g • carbs 43g • sugars 3g • fibre 5g • protein 9g • salt 1.9g