To serve: I love serving it with the salad on top of the pasta because the sharp, peppery salad cuts through the rich and creamy pasta so well. But you can of course serve alongside. The pasta is also delicious without the salad but do try it this way. It’s so good.

Fennel: I know this is divisive, but honestly eating it raw and shaved thinly is so good that if you think you don’t like it, I would recommend still trying it as you may surprise yourself! I love this and can honestly say I don’t enjoy big hunks of raw fennel. It actually mellows out here with the dressing rather than the strong aniseed flavour you may think. This is the mandolin I have by the way and love it!

Make it veggie: Just skip the pancetta bits and go on as usual. Just start the recipe by frying the shallots and then the garlic, and so on. Still so good without the pancetta! Do I have to use vodka? No you can make it without, but the vodka makes the sauce so delicious and balanced. I have made this with gin before when I was out of vodka, and it worked the same way. If you can’t use vodka, just skip it. When you’ve added the tomato puree, don’t add vodka and go straight to the cream along with a splash of pasta water. That will loosen it enough.

How to get your children to eat it too: The alcohol in the vodka is cooked off as the sauce simmers, so don’t worry about serving this to children, it’s okay!

Make it spicy: I also like adding a little teaspoon of chilli flakes or fresh chilli when frying the garlic if I want a bit of a kick to this. Totally up to you!

If you want to double the recipe: just double everything and on you go. You shouldn’t need to double the salad dressing though as I found it made enough for more. Follow it as above even if you’re using more fennel and rocket. If you find it to be dry, you can always just add a squeeze more lemon or drizzle more olive oil to loosen it.

What to do with leftovers: The rocket salad doesn’t keep super well once dressed as the rocket wilts. That’s why I suggest you add the dressing bit by bit so it doesn’t make it too soggy. Leftover dressing can be stored in a jar in the fridge for a few days. It’s great on so many other salads! It may firm up a little in the fridge but once back to room temp, it’ll loosen. The leftover half a fennel is so good raw in a salad even without the rocket. I like to slice it super thinly, with a mandoline like this recipe and just toss it with olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice, salt and pepper. Serve with some fresh mozzarella or loads of grated parmesan on top and it’s a great salad side that’s not just a green salad.