TUNA, FENNEL AND BITTER LEAVES

“For this dish, I urge you to invest in the best tuna you can afford. Generally speaking, with canned fish, if you spend a little more you get better-tasting fish. When I eat this, it really transports me to scorching summer days in Italy spent exploring craggy coasts and stealing moments in the shade under the pine trees in the Porto Selvaggio nature reserve.”

Serves 2

EASY

GREAT VALUE Preparation: 15 minutes Cooking: 20 minutes

tuna in olive oil 1 x 160 g can or jar, oil reserved fennel bulb 1, any tough outer leaves and core discarded, thinly sliced sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste currants 1T pine nuts 2 T, toasted sundried tomatoes 3, finely chopped Italian parsley a small handful, leaves chopped lemon ½, juiced chicory 1 head, roughly shredded shallot 1, finely chopped 1 Preheat the oven to 200°C. In an extrasmall roasting pan, toss the fennel in the reserved oil from the tuna with 3 T water. Season with salt and black pepper and roast for 20 minutes until soft and looking gorgeously golden and glossy. 2 While the fennel is roasting, soak the currants in boiling water. When the fennel is ready, drain the currants and mix into the fennel, with the tuna, pine nuts, sundried tomatoes, parsley, lemon juice, chicory and shallot. CARB-CONSCIOUS, DAIRY-FREE, WHEAT- AND GLUTEN-FREE

WINE: Springfield Miss Lucy