It's a vegetable!

It has a bulbous white root that smells a little of aniseed - it's great sliced raw into salads, in risotto, roasted or braised in the oven...all round good veggie that is in season at the moment.

The root usually has 3-4 shoots coming out of it that are topped with leaves, that can be finely chopped and used as a herb - the seeds can also be ground in a mortar and used as a spice.