Pasta con le Sarde
A classic Palermitan pasta tossed with fresh sardines, wild fennel, raisins, pine nuts, and saffron, finished with toasted breadcrumbs.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Total
- 55 min
- Servings
- 4
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Calories
- 560 kcal
Equipment
- •Large stockpot
- •Deep frying pan
- •Small frying pan
- •Slotted spoon
- •Tongs
Nutrition
Per serving, approximate
- Calories
- 560 kcal
- fat
- 18 g
- carbs
- 74 g
- fibre
- 5 g
- protein
- 26 g
- calories
- 560 kcal
Instructions
- 1
Boil the wild fennel in salted water for ten minutes until tender, then lift it out, saving the cooking water.
- 2
Finely chop the tender boiled fennel and set it aside.
- 3
Toast the breadcrumbs in a dry pan with a few drops of olive oil until deep golden brown, then set aside.
- 4
Heat the remaining olive oil in a wide frying pan and cook the chopped onion until soft and sweet.
- 5
Add the anchovy fillets and mash them with a wooden spoon until they melt into the oil.
- 6
Add the fresh sardines, pine nuts, soaked raisins, chopped fennel, and saffron liquid to the pan.
- 7
Simmer gently over low heat for ten minutes until the sardines break into tender flakes and form a sauce.
- 8
Bring the reserved green fennel water back to the boil and cook the bucatini until al dente.
- 9
Transfer the drained bucatini into the sauce with tongs and toss over gentle heat for two minutes.
- 10
Serve immediately in warm bowls, scattering the crunchy toasted breadcrumbs across the top.
Chef's tips
Always cook the bucatini in the reserved fennel water to infuse the pasta with fragrant herbal flavour. Never add grated cheese to this dish, as Palermitan tradition strictly uses toasted breadcrumbs instead.
Ingredient substitutions
- finocchietto selvatico (wild fennel) → tender cultivated fennel fronds mixed with a pinch of crushed fennel seeds
- bucatini → perciatelli, thick spaghetti, or casarecce
Storage
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to twenty-four hours.
Reheating
Reheat gently in a frying pan over medium heat with a tablespoon of water and a drizzle of olive oil.
Common mistakes to avoid
- •Throwing away the fennel cooking water instead of using it to boil the pasta.
- •Burning the breadcrumbs by leaving them unattended in the hot dry pan.
- •Overcooking the fresh sardines into a dry mush rather than a tender, saucy flake.
Serving suggestions
Cooked Pasta con le Sarde?
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