- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 1x
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 bulb fennel, very thinly sliced, reserve the fronds for garnish
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 oil-packed anchovy fillets
- 8 ounces fresh sardine fillets, or fillets from 1 pound whole sardines, cut into bite-sized pieces
- ½ cup dry Marsala, or dry white wine
- 1 teaspoon saffron
- 1 cup fish stock
- 1/2 cup golden raisins, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
- Salt to taste
- Freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1 pound bucatini or spaghetti
- ½ cup, heaping, unseasoned breadcrumbs, toasted
- 1/4 cup toasted almonds, chopped – optional
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Find OutInstructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté the onion and fennel in the olive oil, add the anchovies and mash into a paste. When the onion is golden, add the sardines and Marsala wine and cook for two minutes. Dissolve saffron in the fish stock -if you don’t have fish stock, you can substitute with water – and add to the skillet. Add the raisins, toasted pine nuts, and salt and pepper and cook for five minutes.
- Cook the pasta until al dente (about 2 minutes less than package directions), drain, reserve 1 cup of the cooking water, and add the pasta to the sardines. Toss together and cook for an additional minute or so – add reserved cooking water if the pasta seems too dry.
- Garnish with breadcrumbs, almonds, chopped fennel fronds to serve.
- Serve immediately.
Ed's Review
Oy, the things I do for you. I endured Magnifica Class on Alitalia and then traversed an arid, rugged terrain, covered with ancient ruins. I baked in the hot Sicilian sun and burned the bottoms of my feet on the shores of the Ionian Sea. I ate to the point of discomfort over and over again, while tasting a variety of delicious but unforgiving wines. (I can’t even begin to discuss the pain inflicted on me by my friend, Signor Grappa.) I barely slept (except for afternoon naps) and was forced to stand for hours in a hot kitchen, with only a cappuccino and a few cups of espresso to keep me awake. All of this I did for you, so that I could bring you the following recipe for Pasta con le Sarde, directly from its point of origin.
Luckily for all of us, Chef Angelo Pumilia at La Foresteria (part of the Planeta winery in Menfi, Sicily) took pity on me and agreed to teach me his family recipe, which I adapted below. It really is for you, as you will come to understand when you make it, taste it, share it with friends, and take credit for it. And with that, all of my suffering shall not have been in vain.
Buon Appetito!
Ed Garrubbo, Editor
Recipe looks good and am trying it tonight, but 1hr 30min seems massively pessimistic for a dish that can surely take no more than 20 mins tops?