Fennel’s aniseed flavour becomes mild when cooked, and in this recipe from Never Trust a Skinny Cook by Iain Hewitson (Allen & Unwin, $45), it’s caramelised and topped with puff pastry.

You will need:

3-4 fennel bulbs, cleaned and hard core cut out

butter

1 heaped teaspoon brown sugar

Balsamic vinegar

Red wine

1 frozen puff pastry sheet

parsley

Preheat oven to 200C. Cut fennel into wedges, remove the hard core. Melt half a tablespoon of butter in a round ovenproof dish or omelette pan. Then tightly pack in the fennel, in one layer, cut side up.

Sprinkle sugar, a good splash of both balsamic vinegar and red wine over the top and dot with another tablespoon of butter.

Cut the puff pastry into a round slightly larger than the dish and place on top of the fennel. Tuck in the sides and cook for 8-10 minutes, until the pastry is golden. Turn out onto a large plate, fennel upwards and sprinkle with freshly chopped Italian parsley.