A proper Venetian cichéti or wine bar snack. If you haven’t grilled fennel before we strongly suggest that you do, it becomes all caramelised and the flavour is much stronger. Here two strong flavours come together to great effect. Serve as a nibble with drinks.
Wine Suggestion: we didn’t have have any dry Venetian whites to hand but from further south in the Marches we had a bottle of Sartarelli’s Verdicchio Classico. Crisp, with hints of bitter, green almonds and pure peach and apple flavours and a saline twist that seemed to echo the anchovies. We were almost sitting in a bacaro overlooking a canal.
Grilled fennel with White Anchovies
- 1 small fennel bulb, sliced through the root into medium-thin pieces about 5mm thick
- extra virgin olive oil
- flaky sea salt
- a handful of roughly chopped dill
- 10 white anchovy fillets
Preheat the grill to medium.
Put the fennel slices onto a baking tray, drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt. Add half the dill and toss to coat, then put the baking tray under the grill for 10-15 minutes, turning once, or until starting to brown and caramelise at the edges. Remove and set aside to cool slightly.
Spread the fennel over a platter and place an anchovy fillet on each slice, then scatter over the rest of the dill and serve.
(Original recipe from Polpo by Russell Norman, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2012.)
Jono & Jules do food & wine 
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