1. Cook the fennel bulb.

Chop the fennel bulb fairly. You can do it fairly quickly by slicing it in half lengthwise, and then cutting through almost to the base in lines about 1/2 inch apart. Then make very thin slices. See how I sliced the first half of my fennel bulb below below:

It doesn’t have to be perfectly fine, but you don’t want huge chunks. You can see that mine was not perfect.

Heat a nonstick pan over medium-low heat and add about 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add the fennel and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of ground pepper.

Cook for 10 minutes over low heat taking care not to burn the fennel. You want to hear it gently sizzling. After some time, the fennel will begin to look more translucent and will take on a subtle brown, caramelized color. (Note: The color change will not be as obvious as it is if you were doing this with onions.)

2. Prepare the fennel mixture.

Once your fennel has caramelized a bit (after about 10 minutes of cook time), add to the frying pan and cook for about 2 more minutes:

• 1 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1/4 cup dates (the dates will want to stick together but try to break them up as much as possible as they cook — if very difficult, you can add a bit of olive oil as you try to break them apart with your cooking spatula).

Once finished cooking, turn off the heat and add:

• 1 tablespoon chopped sage (or other herbs)

Then set aside for a couple of minutes to cool.

3. Finish making the sausage mixture.

To a mixing bowl add:

• 1 1/2 teaspoons orange zest (this is about 2 mandarins / satsumas for me – and I use this micro planer)
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 pound of chicken
• 1 tbsp maple syrup (if using)
• the fennel mixture you just prepared in the frying pan.

Mix thoroughly. I use a spatula spoon for this part, but you could also use your hands or a large spoon.

4. Cook the sausages!

Add about 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a frying pan and preheat for about a minute over medium heat. Using two spoons or a cookie dough scoop, scoop out balls of the sausage mixture and get them in the pan. Then flatten them using the back of a spoon (I use my spatula spoon for this again). The oil should be actively sizzling around the sausages if it is hot enough.

Once flattened, cook the sausages for about 3 minutes on each side (I literally set a timer for this). Once they’re cooked, I sometimes place them on a paper towel to absorb any extra oil. BUT don’t do this if you used maple syrup in your recipe — the sausages will stick to the paper!

5. Enjoy!