Directions
Pasta with sardines is a typical, poor dish of the Sicilian cuisine and comes from the combination of a few, simple, amazing ingredients: sardines, raisin, pine nuts and wild fennels.
It seems not a great deal, but it’s one of the most delicious and intriguing Italian recipes. Usually, on the top of the plate, you can find bread crumbs roasted in olive and garlic.
But behind this simplicity lies an incredibly good symphony of flavors and fragrances: from the bright flavor of the sardines you go to the fresh and aromatic fennel charm, much more intense than the “normal” fennel.
Pasta with sardines is a hymn to the Sicilian culinary estrus, a tradition, a way of life that blends aristocratic recipes revisited and arranged with popular ingredients, where each dish is a true masterpiece.
The season of wild fennels, which in Sicily grows along ditches and abandoned gardens, is at its peak during March, but you have only a few tufts, plant them in a pot, give them a little water and you will be able to have fennels all year long year.
So are you ready to make Sicilian pasta with sardines like a pro? Here is the original recipe of this magical dish, which dates from the time of Arab domination, when mixing salty and sweet flavors was a common practice.
Sicilian style Pasta with sardine, bread crumbs and sultanas ingredients
4 people
- 380 grams of bucatini, spaghetti, penne: as long as it’s pasta you’ll be great
- 800 grams of sardines
- 200 grams of yellow onions
- 300 grams of wild fennels
- 150 grams of bread crumbs
- 260 grams of pine nuts
- 180 grams of raisins
- 3 grams of saffron
- salt and pepper
- 45 grams of extra virgin olive oil
How to prepare Sicilian style Pasta with sardine, bread crumbs and sultanas
Soften the raisins in warm water.
Eviscerate and wash sardines. Remove the head and open them like a book to have clean, silky fillets.
Bring the water to a boil. Clean wild fennels, cut the heart into small slices and put them to boil for no more than 5-6 minutes. Set aside the water, where we will boil pasta.
Cook the sardines on the grill or in a pan with a little bit of oil, then season them with salt and pepper and set aside.
Cut the onions and let them cook gently in a large skillet with 6 extra virgin olive oil spoons, for 5 minutes, add pine nuts, raisins, saffron and fennels, season with pepper and let cook on low heat for 10 minutes. If the sauce is too dry, just add some cooking water.
Add the sardines to the mix and turn off.
Cook the pasta in the same water where you’ve cooked fennels, of course, al dente.
In a pan put two tablespoons of oil and 1 clove of garlic and brown some bread crumbs until it becomes golden and crunchy.
Drain the pasta al dente and toss with the sauce of sardines, sprinkle with breadcrumbs and serve immediately.
Tips for the perfect Sicilian pasta with sardines
To add a fresh touch grate some lemon peel over pasta.
Instead of the classic bucatini, try bigoli, ziti or pici and you will notice that this wonderful condiment can enhance any kind of pasta.
What wine matches well with Sicilian pasta with sardines?
We choose a fruity and fresh wine, floral, respectful of the many suggestions of the dish, but able to keep your palate clean: Soave Classico Staforte cellar Graziano Pra is the perfect wine. Champagne‘s perfect if you prefer some bubbles.
If you want to combine a cocktail, the freshness of Sex on the Beach is perfect!
