CARAMELISED FENNEL, POTATO & LEMON PISSALADIÈRE

Top this version of the classic tart with fennel, potatoes, anchovies and black olives. Also known as French pizza, it makes for a great weekend lunch

One of the things I love the most about cooking is the versatility of ingredients. Take a potato – boiled and buttered, or sliced and fried until crisp, you’ve got a very different outcome from one simple ingredient.

Spring veggies have to be among the most versatile and I love to experiment with them. Spring greens are a humble veg, usually boiled and served alongside a roast, but why not try them in the crispy filo pie, spanakopita. It’s a classic Greek dish, usually stuffed with spinach and cheese. Here I’ve replaced spinach with spring greens and the result is truly delicious – somehow fresher than the original, with more bite.

Fennel replaces caramelised onions in my pissaladiere, a French bread-based tart, best served in small squares as nibbles or a starter. Try one of these gorgeous tarts this weekend for the perfect springtime dinner in the garden.

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. Mix until you form a soft dough. Knead for 10 mins by hand, or 5-7 mins in a mixer. Put 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 splash of oil from anchovies. Add the fennel, sugar, vinegar, fennel seeds, a splash of water and cover the dish. 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 potatoes in a pan of boiling water for 2-3 mins until they start to soften – they don’t need to be cooked. Drain and leave to steam-dry in the colander. 4 When the dough has doubled in size, tip it on to 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. 5

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 clingfilm and leave to rise for another 30 mins to 1 hr until the dough has puffed up and filled the tin. Heat oven to 220C/200C Fan/gas Mark 7. 6 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.