Pasta con le Sarde (Sicilian Pasta with Sardines)

Name: Pasta con le Sarde (Sicilian Pasta with Sardines)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4 serving
Ingredients: 350 g Spaghetti; 250 g sardines; 200 g wild fennel; 1 onion; 50 g raisins; 30 g pine nuts; 30 g almonds; 3 tablespoons olive oil; 0.15 g saffron powder; 150 g breadcrumbs; black pepper; salt

User Reviews

5.0

3 reviews

Excellent

Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
40 mins
Servings
4
Calories
837 kcal
Course
Main Course
Cuisine
Italian

Pasta con le Sarde (Sicilian Pasta with Sardines)

Iris Warren

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Pasta con le Sarde is a famous dish of Sicilian cuisine. It's a very tasty pasta recipe made with simple ingredients such as sardines, wild fennel, raisins and breadcrumbs.Sardines are a typical "blue fish" that is very common in the Mediterranean sea and in Sicily in particular.One of the key ingredients in this recipe is wild fennel. Wild fennel is a very common herb in Sicily. It gives a special flavor to Pasta con le Sarde. If you cannot find it, you can substitute it with fennel top and some fennel seeds.

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Ingredients

Servings

350 g Spaghetti ¾ pound, thick spaghetti or bucatini
250 g sardines ½ pound, net of scraps
200 g wild fennel 7 oz, you can substitute wild fennel with fennel tops and a scant teaspoon of fennel seeds.
1 onion white, small
50 g raisins ~5 tablespoons
30 g pine nuts ~4 tablespoons
30 g almonds ~3 tablespoons
3 tablespoons olive oil extra virgin
0.15 g saffron powder 1 sachet
150 g breadcrumbs 1 ½ cups
black pepper to taste
salt to taste

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Instructions

Boil the wild fennel. When the water boils, toss in the wild fennel - or fennel tops - and cook them over medium heat for 10 minutes.
Once cooked, drain and chop them on a cutting board. Keep aside. Save the boiling water from the fennel.
Soak the raisins in a small bowl of warm water. Keep aside. Then, on a cutting board, chop the onion quite finely and keep aside as well.
Using an electric mixer, chop the almonds. It's not necessary to grind them into a powder, just chop them coarsely.
Clean the sardines thoroughly. If your sardines are already cleaned, skip this step. Remove the head, tail, dorsal fin, guts and center bone.
Finally, rinse them quickly under running water and dry them with paper towels. Arrange them on a plate and keep them aside.
In a skillet, sauté the onion in extra virgin olive oil.
Then add chopped fennel (and fennel seeds if you do not have wild fennel), raisins (squeezed out of water), chopped almonds and pine nuts and stir.
Add a ladleful of the fennel cooking water and mix well. Let it cook for about 5 minutes on medium heat.
Then dissolve the saffron in a tiny bit of water and add it to the sauce.
Add the sardines. If they are large, cut them into pieces, otherwise put them whole.
If necessary, add a little fennel cooking water so that the sardines turn out covered.
Cook for about 5 or 6 minutes over medium heat. The sauce should be quite thick and the sardines not too flaky.
Taste and add salt and pepper if necessary. Keep aside.
Toast the breadcrumbs in a frying pan. Heat a 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil in the pan and add the breadcrumbs. Toast over medium heat.
Stir continuously so that the bread does not burn but becomes golden and crispy. This will take about 5 minutes. Keep aside.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the spaghettoni - or bucatini - following the cooking time described on the package.
Drain the pasta 2 minutes before the end of cooking time. Place the pasta directly into the pan with the sauce.
Add a drizzle of oil and, if the sardine sauce has thickened too much in the meantime, add some of the fennel cooking water. Cook for 2 minutes over high heat, stirring gently without letting the sardines flake.
Serve the pasta hot with plenty of crunchy breadcrumbs.

Nutrition Information

Show Details

Serving 100g Calories 837kcal (42%) Carbohydrates 107g (36%) Protein 35g (70%) Fat 30g (46%) Saturated Fat 4g (20%) Polyunsaturated Fat 9g Monounsaturated Fat 14g Trans Fat 0.003g Cholesterol 89mg (30%) Sodium 477mg (20%) Potassium 760mg (22%) Fiber 7g (28%) Sugar 6g (12%) Vitamin A 70IU (1%) Vitamin C 3mg (3%) Calcium 357mg (36%) Iron 6mg (33%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 4Serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories 837 kcal

% Daily Value*

Serving	100g
Calories	837kcal	42%
Carbohydrates	107g	36%
Protein	35g	70%
Fat	30g	46%
Saturated Fat	4g	20%
Polyunsaturated Fat	9g	53%
Monounsaturated Fat	14g	70%
Trans Fat	0.003g	0%
Cholesterol	89mg	30%
Sodium	477mg	20%
Potassium	760mg	16%
Fiber	7g	28%
Sugar	6g	12%
Vitamin A	70IU	1%
Vitamin C	3mg	3%
Calcium	357mg	36%
Iron	6mg	33%