400 g skinless salmon fillet
100 ml white wine
1 small lemon, sliced
A few parsley stalks
½ tsp peppercorns
Olive oil
80 g pack Italian pancetta
1 large fennel bulb, trimmed and
chopped
600 g small new potatoes, sliced 5 mm thick
3 tbsps mayonnaise
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Milk
Pinch fennel seeds crushed with ¼ tsp peppercorns
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tbsp snipped chives

Run your fingers over the salmon and pull out any stray bones with tweezers, then put the fish into a pan, together with the wine, lemon slices, parsley stalks and peppercorns. Add 100 ml water, bring it all to the boil, cover the pan and simmer gently for five minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the salmon to stand in the covered pan.

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan. Fry half the pancetta slices until crisp, then drain on kitchen paper and reserve. Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan and fry the fennel gently until very soft but not brown. Chop the remaining pancetta, add it to the pan, raise the heat and fry for two minutes more.

While the fennel is softening, cook the potatoes in boiling salted water until tender. Mix together the mayonnaise and mustard with enough milk to make it pourable, then add the crushed fennel and peppercorns.

Drain the potatoes and tip them on to the fennel. Drain and flake the salmon into large pieces and add them to the pan, together with the mayonnaise mixture and parsley. Toss it all together gently over low heat for a minute or two, then turn into a warm serving dish, crumble over the reserved pancetta and sprinkle with the chives. (Serves 4)