An ingredient to enjoy FENNEL

Designer, cook and author Sophie Conran shares her favourite seasonal flavour

As a child, i knew fennel not as food but as foliage for bouquets. my parents grew a beautiful feathery bronze variety in the borders, where i used to cut flowers for the house. Wild, or herb, fennel, with its tall, acid-green branches – which grows all over the mediterranean as well as in britain – fills the air with a faint liquorice aroma this month. The seeds and fronds are used in many dishes, going well with fish, but my favourite is the florence fennel bulb (right), which adds a crunch to salads, is delicious as crudités or braised in stock and baked with a crust of parmesan. For more details, visit sophieconran.com.