Fennel soup with chickpea cakes

Method

1. To make the soup, heat the oil in a saucepan over a medium heat, and fry the vegetables until softened but not coloured. Add the fennel seeds and the star anise.

2. Pour in the stock and cook the vegetables for a further 5-10 minutes. They should be completely soft by now. Stir in the cream.

3. Transfer the mixture to a blender and pulse until smooth. Pass through a strainer and season to taste. Leave on one side while you make the dumplings.

4. For the dumplings, in a separate saucepan, heat the oil and fry the spring onion and garlic over a low heat for about a minute. Tip the onion mixture into a large bowl and add the chick peas, cumin, coriander seeds, chilli and the chopped coriander.

5. Add the potato and beaten egg, and taste for seasoning.

6. Roll the dumpling mixture into balls, about the size of a fifty-pence coin, and chill in the fridge for roughly 1 hour.

7. Roll each dumpling in flour, then dip in the beaten egg, and coat with the breadcrumbs.

8. Heat the oil in a deep-fat fryer to 180C, and fry the dumplings, in batches, until golden.

9. Deep-fry the spaghetti strands (if using) in the same oil, and thread the cooked dumplings onto the crisp spaghetti strands. Alternatively, simply place the cooked dumplings in soup bowls, pour over the piping hot soup, and serve straight away.