The British diner strikes me as deeply suspicious of all things aniseed.

As a child, I adored liquorice sweets. Later, on holidays to France, I fell headlong in love with the aniseed intensity of Pernod and Ricard - irresistible when sipped in the glow of a hot setting sun; tragically, like the best holiday romance, it does not translate to the cool grey of home. Béarnaise sauce would be lost without the aniseed hint of tarragon, yet no one resents spooning it over steak. Our relationship with fennel is one of unease and inconsistency.

Fennel's aniseed notes, so distinct when raw, can vanish with over-exposure to heat during cooking. I wonder if fennel is too often served with all its precious character, fugitive flavour and texture boiled out of it? No wonder it underwhelms sometimes. Fennel's job should be to heighten the freshness of fish and shellfish, to bring a cleansing crunch to lamb, a Mediterranean warmth to pork or an almost fruity bite to salads.

The frilly fronds are as flavoursome and important as the bulb: if yours has fresh, dill-like leaves, pick them for sprinkling at the last moment. Firm fresh bulbs should appear pale greeny-white, with no brown markings denoting bruising or aging. Either flash fry the shredded vegetable very fast, with a pinch of fennel seed or braise gently with a modest splash of pastis. Sliced raw into a salad with Asian pears, tarragon and mint, fennel creates a zingy fresh summer salad to accompany shellfish.

Baked gratin of fennel and tarragon

Recipes serve four

4 bulbs of fennel

1 clove of garlic, peeled

A few sprigs of tarragon and thyme

A pinch of fennel seeds, optional

1 lemon

200ml double cream

20ml milk

2 egg yolks

2 rounded dessertspoons of grated Parmesan

2 rounded dessertspoons of breadcrumbs

Salt, fresh ground black pepper

1 If the bulbs of fennel have any frilly fronds of fennel herb around the tips, pick this off before starting and set it aside.

2 Place the milk and cream in a small sauce pan and add the thyme, tarragon and garlic. Bring to a simmer then remove from the heat and stand for at least 10 minutes or until cool, then beat in the eggs.

3 Slice the fennel lengthways as thinly as possible, trying to keep to a thickness of no more than 2mm per slice. Place all the sliced fennel in a large bowl or on a wide tray. Zest the lemon over the top and then squeeze the juice on to the fennel as well. Season lightly with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper, add the fennel seeds if using. Chop up the leaves of fennel herb and add this too. Now pass the infused milk and cream mixture through a sieve on to the sliced up fennel and toss thoroughly to coat. Transfer to a gratin dish or baking dish, measuring about 30cm by 20cm, making sure you build up the layers evenly. Pour any cream mixture left in the original mixing bowl over this.

4 Mix the Parmesan and breadcrumbs together and scatter over the surface.

5 Pre-heat the oven to 160c/gas mark 3. Place the filled gratin dish on a baking tray, as when it cooks cream can bubble up and over.

6 Cook in the middle of the oven, turning half way through, until a knife inserted into the middle meets no resistance, about 30 minutes. This can be done in advance and gently reheated or served at once. I like this served with lamb, but equally it can be served as a light main course with a crisp green salad and bread.

Salad of raw shaved fennel, Asian pears, hazelnuts, tarragon and chilli

2 heads of fresh pale fennel

2 Asian pears

3 bushy stems of tarragon

1 red chilli

2 dessertspoons of peeled hazelnuts

Juice and zest of one or more limes depending on size and juiciness

Extra virgin olive oil to drizzle, about 20ml

Hazelnut oil, also to drizzle, about 30ml

Optional extras: crumbled feta, or warm grilled prawns

1 This entire salad is a bit of a last-minute assembly job. Cutting the fennel or pears too early will cause them to discolour, so the ingredients are few and the method - more of a suggestion than a recipe - is fast and simple with just a few steps.

2 Pick off and reserve any fennel herb sprouting from the tops of the fennel then slice the fennel as thinly as possible along its length: a mandolin is ideal for this. If you do not have one, trim off the base so it is steady then cut downwards with a very sharp knife to make slivers as wafer thin as you can safely manage. Place these in a large salad bowl. Alternatively, you could slice the fennel an hour or two in advance and place in a bowl of cold water with a small squirt of lemon juice. This will reduce the risk of it discolouring.

3 Slice the top and bottom off the chilli then, standing over an open bin, roll the chilli back and forwards in your hands so the seeds are loosened, causing them to drop into the bin. Now slice the chilli as finely as you can into fine rounds. Add to the fennel (if you placed the fennel in water, drain now and place in a large salad bowl).

4 Place the hazelnuts on a chopping board and roughly chop with a large knife then transfer to a baking tray and bake in the oven for a few minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool then add to the fennel.

5 Pick the leaves from the tarragon, reserving the stalks for other uses such as flavouring vinegar or using in sauces and soups. Pick the tarragon leaves with your fingers, they can remain as large or as fine as you wish. Add them, with the reserved fennel herb, to the other ingredients.

6 Slice the pear into quarters and trim out the core and discard. Slice the flesh into elegant slivers that still allow you to see the natural outline of the pear's shape. Add to the salad bowl.

7 To serve: drizzle just enough hazelnut oil and olive oil over the salad to lightly coat then toss to coat. Zest the lime(s) over the bowl with a fine grater or microplane then add the lime juice, before tossing once more. Serve at once, either as a starter or as an accompaniment to grilled fish or grilled lamb chops. A very good barbecue salad.