(Pasta con le sarde)
Vocabulary
bucatini – a thick, spaghetti-like pasta with a hole running through the middle
fennel – a flowering plant species in the carrot family
sardines – a nutrient-rich, small, oily fish widely consumed by humans
pine nuts – Pine nuts, also called piñón, pinoli, or pignoli, are the edible seeds of pines
Ingredients
- 500g (1 lb) bucatini
- Salt
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 fennel bulbs, just the stems and fronds
- 4-6 anchovy filets
- 3 or 4 small (4 oz/124g) cans of sardines packed in olive oil
- A handful of raisins soaked in warm water
- A handful of pine nuts
- A few threads of saffron, soaked in warm water
- Olive oil
- Salt
For the topping (optional):
- 100g (1 cup) breadcrumbs
- Olive oil
Directions
Boil the fennel stems and fronds in a large pot of well salted water until tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer the fennel out of the pot with a slotted spoon, drain in a colander and let cool. Then chop the fennel and set aside for later use. (Do not discard the cooking water!)
While the fennel is cooking, sauté the breadcrumbs in olive oil over gentle heat, stirring so the breadcrumbs are all coated in the oil, until they turn a golden brown. Turn off the heat and set aside until needed.
In a large sauté pan, sauté the onions in olive oil. Add the anchovies and let them melt into the onions. Then mix in the chopped fennel and sauté for a minute or two. Then add the saffron with its liquid, along with the raisins and pine nuts. Simmer everything for a minute or two longer to let the flavors meld. Taste and season with salt if it needs it. Finally, add the sardines and give everything a gentle stir, letting the sardine filets break up but not disintegrate. Lower the heat as far as it will go to keep this sauce warm.
Meanwhile, add the bucatini to the same pot where you had boiled the fennel.
When the pasta has cooked, transfer it to the pan with the sauce and toss everything together gently.
Source: https://memoriediangelina.com/2022/01/22/pasta-con-le-sarde/
