I love the mindset of Italian cooking; simple but with crucial ingredients. Biscotti are a case in point. Flour, sugar, almonds in their skins, lemon rind and a hint of fennel seeds. Of course you can leave out fennel seeds if you must – and I am not usually the greatest fan – but here they bring the authentic flavour alive.

These are the ultimate dunking biscuit.

150g skin on almonds
250g caster sugar
½ tsp fennel seeds, crushed with a pestle and mortar,
Zest of 1 lemon, finely grated
250g plain four
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Icing sugar

Oven at 190°C

Lay the almonds out on a baking tray and bake for seven minutes or until they are lightly roasted. Leave to cool, then chop into twos and threes.

In a large bowl, mix the caster sugar with the flour, baking powder and salt.

Stir in the beaten eggs and then add the almonds, crushed fennel seeds and lemon zest.

Using your hands, move the mixture around in the bowl until it becomes dough-like and clings. Divide into two balls and, on a board dusted with icing sugar, form each into bricks 5cm in diameter. Flatten each roll slightly.

Place these well apart on a large, lined baking tray and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until the rolls are lightly coloured and firm on the outside. Leave to cool. Turn the oven down to 150°C.

On a chopping board, and using a bread knife, cut each roll at an angle into about 16 slices, 1 cm thick.

In batches, lay the slices out on a large baking tray covered with a baking sheet. Put in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes on one side, then turn and bake for 15 minutes more. The slices should be dry but not coloured.

Cool on a cake rack and store in an airtight container.