How to get your children to eat it too: fennel can be rather divisive for adults, let alone children. I would skip the fennel seeds if serving to children (or at least make sure they are really crushed up so you don’t risk anyone biting down on a whole fennel seed). I find the fresh fennel actually cooks down enough that it loses the strong aniseed punch and it’s much more mellow and buttery. So I would keep it in. However, you know your children best so if you need to make this just a sausage and broccoli pasta, that is also delicious. If you want to double the recipe, here’s what to do: very easy to double. Double all the ingredients as above and get yourself a larger pan! Done.

Make it veggie: This works well with veggie sausages. Break them apart and fry in olive oil (they won’t crumble as much but they do break down into chunks). Continue as normal. Skip the anchovies. Otherwise, just make this a fennel and broccoli pasta, no sausages. That will still be delicious but just a little different.

A note on fennel seeds: To crush them, ideally use a pestle and mortar. But I know that isn’t part of everyone's kitchen. Otherwise, use a tiny blender/spice grinder or just lay on a board and slowly chop with a sharp knife. It does need to be sharp otherwise they fly around. You could also keep them whole, it’s still good, but you will get sharp bites of fennel through the dish. I think it would also work to add the fennel seeds to a clean tea towel and wrap them into a parcel. Then use the base of a heavy pan or a mug and press down to crush them.

A note on anchovies: I know these are also as divisive as fennel, if not more. But I really think you should try adding them, even if you think you don’t like them. As you can see , they really melt into nothing and just leave behind a salty, umami hit, not fishy at all. I like to buy the ones in a jar over the tin as it’s so much easier to store. If you can’t find fennel, use: more broccoli! Just keep the fennel seeds in and bump up the broccoli. I would recommend you add it but some smaller supermarkets may not have it. You could also skip the kale/cavolo nero and just do broccoli (or vice versa and just do kale, no broccoli) but I like the added greenery in this so I like both.

A note on pasta shape: Use whatever! I love orecchiette here as the little ears scoop up the sauce nicely but use whatever you have. I do find this is best with a shorter pasta but honestly, it’s all good.

A note on mascarpone: ANY creamy product works here. Use what you have in the fridge! I have made this many times with creme fraiche and it’s great. Cream cheese would also work or even just double cream. That makes it a little more luxurious, so you choose what works. If you can’t use wine, here’s what to do: I will say the wine is important here as it really adds an acidity to the dish which is important since the sausages and mascarpone are rich. A hack I do really love is freezing leftover wine for cooking, if you aren’t going to drink it. Once you’ve used what you need, pour the wine into a strong, sealable ziploc bag and place in the freezer. Due to the alcohol content, it never quite freezes solid and it means you can break chunks off and add directly to the pan when a recipe calls for wine. White wine is best here in this recipe but if you have a bottle of rose or red open, use that! Now, if you can’t use wine for a variety of reasons, do not worry. Just add about 100ml of stock to the pan with a splash of balsamic vinegar, in place of the wine. This adds some liquid to get the crispy bits up off the pan and adds some acidity too.

What to serve with this recipe: this is a meal in itself! Add a few more veggies to the side if that’s your thing but I find this is plenty as is.

What to do with leftovers: this will keep in the fridge for 3 days with no problem. To reheat, I like to either blast in the microwave 1-2 minutes until piping hot. Or add to a pan over medium heat with a splash of water or a knob of butter and just stir occasionally until heated through. Sometimes I find doing it on the hob makes it nice and saucy again, more than the microwave, but sometimes the microwave calls my name since it is quicker and less effort! As for ingredients, I want to mention that the leftover fennel is so good raw in a salad. I like to slice it super thinly, with a mandoline, and 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.