Pasta con le Sarde - How to Make Sicilian-Style Pasta with Sardines and Fennel

pine nuts

🥗Healthier: walnuts

💰Cheaper: sunflower seeds

Walnuts provide a similar texture and flavor at a lower cost.

sardines

🥗Healthier: mackerel

💰Cheaper: canned tuna

Canned tuna is often less expensive and widely available.

olive oil

🥗Healthier: avocado oil

💰Cheaper: vegetable oil

Vegetable oil is a budget-friendly alternative for sautéing.

raisins

🥗Healthier: dried cranberries

💰Cheaper: dried figs

Dried figs can be a more economical choice with a similar sweetness.

Set a pan on medium heat and add a few handfuls of fresh breadcrumbs with a generous drizzle of Sicilian olive oil.

Toast the breadcrumbs until golden brown and crispy, then transfer to a bowl to cool.

Open 2 cans of sardines packed in olive oil, break them up on a plate, and optionally remove the backbones.

Add the olive oil from the sardine cans to the plate with the sardines and set aside.

Chop the white bulb of the fennel and pick off and chop a couple tablespoons of the green fronds.

Heat a large skillet on medium heat and pour in Sicilian olive oil.

Add the diced onion and chopped fennel to the skillet with a pinch of salt and sauté until soft, about 10 minutes.

In a mortar, grind a pinch of saffron threads and mix with white wine to prepare a saffron wine mixture.

Once the onion and fennel are soft, add 1 anchovy filet, minced garlic, and chopped golden raisins to the skillet and cook for 1-2 minutes.

Pour in the saffron-infused wine and cook on medium heat for about 2 minutes until the wine is mostly evaporated.

Add a ladle full of boiling pasta water to the skillet and then stir in red pepper flakes and toasted pine nuts.

Cook 1/2 pound of bucatini in boiling salted water, undercooking it by at least a minute.

Before the pasta timer rings, add the sardines and their oil to the skillet and distribute throughout the mixture.

Once the pasta is cooked, add it directly to the skillet without draining, using tongs to fish it out.

Crank the heat to medium-high and toss the pasta in the sauce, adding more pasta water as needed to keep the mixture moist and juicy.

Continue tossing and cooking the pasta in the sauce for a couple of minutes until fully combined.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

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