Fennel and apple carpaccio with toasted-walnut pesto

Serves 6-8 Raw fennel has a strong taste of aniseed which mellows, becoming fruity, when the slices are marinated in lemon juice, and it is exceptionally attractive when sliced transparently thin. Choose extra-fresh, firm bulbs with a shiny skin and healthy green fronds. This makes a good side dish to serve with fish.

— 250g walnut halves — olive oil, for toasting — 100g Parmesan, Grana Padano or Berkswell cheese, finely grated — 4 tbsp flat-leaf parsley,

finely chopped — 8 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil,

plus more to serve — 2-3 fennel bulbs, as fresh

as possible — juice of 1 lemon — 4 dessert apples (Cox’s, Worcester, Russet, Braeburn or Granny Smith)

Put the walnuts in a pan with one dessertspoon of olive oil and very gently toast until fragrant and golden – be careful, because walnuts burn easily. Remove from the heat and tip on to a plate to cool completely. Break them up and mix in a bowl with the cheese, parsley and extra-virgin olive oil, season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Set to one side.

Remove any hard, dry or discoloured outer layers of the fennel bulbs and reserve the fronds. If the base of the bulbs is at all brown, use a potato peeler to trim it. Slice the fennel on a mandolin or very finely with a knife. Place in a bowl and toss in the lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Leave for 10 minutes for the flavours to combine.

Meanwhile, cut the flesh off the apples, keeping the skin on but discarding the cores. Slice the apples very thinly on a mandolin or with a knife. Divide the slices between the plates, followed by the fennel, then drop little teaspoonfuls of the walnut pesto on to each plate. Finally, scatter over the reserved fennel fronds, a few more drops of extra-virgin olive oil and some sea salt.