WHAT DOES IT TASTE LIKE?

It’s spicy with hints of anise and a little heat, from its cure of white wine flavoured with fennel seeds, chilli, white and black pepper, paprika and garlic. It’s smoky, too, from its time spent over beechwood.

TIPS, TRICKS & HACKS

• Slather a pizza base with tomato sauce, dot with mozzarella and lay over slices of Spicy Italian Pepperoni. Bake in a hot oven, slice, eat and be happy!
• Add to hearty pasta bakes – try it in a lasagne, or in a traybake of gnocchi, dressed in a tomato sauce and dotted with mozzarella.
• Combine with potatoes, peas, parmesan and egg in a classic Italian frittata. 
• Pile generously into ciabatta or focaccia with provolone cheese, black olives, tomatoes and basil pesto for the ultimate Italian sandwich. 
• Serve on a cheese board along with other cured meats, crackers and whatever else you fancy.
• Chop slices into the mix for a spicier take on homemade burgers. 
• Sandwich between 2 tortillas with mozzarella, Cooks' Ingredients Chargrilled Artichokes in Oil and a tomato salsa and dry-fry for lunchtime quesadillas.

easy meal idea

Orecchiette with pepperoni & fennel 

This simple pasta dish punches above its weight with big, bold flavours. 

1. Cook orecchiette pasta shells in boiling, salted water, as per the pack instructions. Drain (retaining a cup of the pasta water), return to the pan, toss with extra-virgin olive oil, cover and set aside. 
   
   
2. Fry finely diced fennel in olive oil with some fennel seeds, garlic and chilli flakes. When the veg is soft, add finely grated lemon zest and slices of Spicy Italian Pepperoni and cook until warmed through and beginning to render some of its oil. 
   
   
3. Tip the content of the frying pan into the pasta. Stir thoroughly, adding some parmesan and enough of the cooking water to create a kind of loose, glossy sauce. Season with plenty of black pepper and serve, garnished with chopped fennel fronds.