Pasta with Sardines Recipe
A classic, must try Sicilian pasta dish from Palermo, pasta with sardines is made with wild fennel, raisins, pine nuts and saffron. A flavorful and perfectly balanced combination of flavors and textures all in one dish!
Servings 6 servings
Calories 731kcal
Ingredients
- 500 grams fresh sardines can be replaced with canned sardines
- ¼ cup pine nuts
- 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs from day old bread (see note below)
- ¼ cup raisins sultana or golden raisins
- 1 envelope saffron (0.1 gram)
- large handful wild fennel or 1 fennel bulb with the fronds
- 1 large onion diced
- 3-4 oil packed anchovy fillets
- 500 grams spaghetti or bucatini pasta
- 5 tbsp. olive oil divided, plus extra for drizzling at the end
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Prepare the sardines
- If possible, ask your fish monger to clean the sardines for you. Otherwise clean the sardines by removing the head. tail and dorsal fin with a pair of scissors.
- Make a cut lengthwise along the belly of the fish, rinse out the contents of the belly and remove the backbone.
- Rinse well and pat dry with a paper towel. Cut each sardine into 3-4 pieces and set aside while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
Prepare the remaining ingredients
- Toast the pine nuts in a dry pan over medium heat until they begin to release their oil, brown lightly and are fragrant. Give them a rough chop or leave whole. Set aside.
- In the same pan, toast the breadcrumbs until lightly browned. Pour in 2 tbsps. of olive oil and stir until they are crisp and golden. Transfer to a bowl.
- Soak the raisins in a bowl with 1/4 cup hot water and stir in the saffron so it may dissolve.
For the fennel
- If using wild fennel, boil for a few minutes in the same pot that you use to cook the pasta. Drain well, let cool and chop roughly. If the fronds are tender, they may be chopped and tossed in along with the sardines in the next step.
- If you are using regular fennel, chop the bulb and sauté along with the onion in the next step. Stir in the fennel fronds at the end of cooking.
Assemble the dish
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente while you prepare the sardine sauce.
- Meanwhile, in a skillet large enough to add the pasta, heat the remaining olive oil over medium heat and sauté the onion. After a minute stir in the anchovy fillets and cook, stirring, until the anchovies melt into the onion mixture, about 5 minutes.
- Add the chopped sardines and cook for 2 minutes. Add a pinch of salt to taste, and pepper. Stir in the raisin and saffron mixture, pine nuts and most of the fennel. (I reserved a few fronds for garnishing).
- Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Taste and add salt, if needed.
- Drain the pasta, reserving some of the cooking water, and add to the pan with the sardine mixture. Toss to coat the pasta in the sardine sauce and stir in some pasta water to loosen the sauce, if needed.
- Stir in half of the reserved crispy breadcrumbs and reserved fennel fronds.
- Drizzle lightly with extra olive oil and serve the pasta in individual bowls with extra breadcrumbs spooned over each dish.
Notes
Substitutions and Variations
-If you don't have access to good quality fresh sardines, replace with canned sardines.
-Replace wild fennel fronds with one regular fennel. Cut the bulb into cubes and sauté along with the onion. Chop up the fronds and stir into the sardine sauce in the last minute or two of cooking. Reserve some fronds for garnishing the finished pasta dish.
-This recipe is typically made with spaghetti or bucatini pasta. How to make fresh breadcrumbs or muddica: -Muddica is made with the coarsely grated crumb of day old or stale bread.
-Grate the crumb using a box cheese grater or pulse a few times in your food processor.
-If you have extra breadcrumbs, store in the freezer for future use.
-Fine dry breadcrumbs are not a good substitute for muddica!
-Replace wild fennel fronds with one regular fennel. Cut the bulb into cubes and sauté along with the onion. Chop up the fronds and stir into the sardine sauce in the last minute or two of cooking. Reserve some fronds for garnishing the finished pasta dish.
-This recipe is typically made with spaghetti or bucatini pasta. How to make fresh breadcrumbs or muddica: -Muddica is made with the coarsely grated crumb of day old or stale bread.
-Grate the crumb using a box cheese grater or pulse a few times in your food processor.
-If you have extra breadcrumbs, store in the freezer for future use.
-Fine dry breadcrumbs are not a good substitute for muddica!
Nutrition
Calories: 731kcal | Carbohydrates: 83g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 120mg | Sodium: 398mg | Potassium: 683mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 94IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 380mg | Iron: 5mg