Pasta con le sarde - Italian dishes

Pasta con le sarde (Italian food). A strikingly simple plateof spaghetti, fennel, onions, and sardines garnished with golden raisins(sultanas) and pine nuts, but its layers of flavor and texture speak of Sicily’s multifariousheritage. Grapes, introduced by the Greeks in the 7th century BC, combiningwith the tradition of using dried fruit in savory dishes adopted from theMoors, the abundant use of saffron borrowed from the Spanish Bourbon monarchy,and the native reliance on cheap and readily-available ingredients of the highestquality in the onions, foraged wild fennel, pine nuts and the island’s goldenolive oil.

And, just like the variegated Sicilian identity, thedisagreements over what constitutes a real pasta con le sarde are multihued.Some prefer a thicker long pasta like perciatelli or bucatini over spaghetti,some add breadcrumbs, some refuse to add anchovies, others only saute half thesardines with the sauce, breaking the other half into mix after the pasta hasbeen added to the pan, and yet others would crumble almonds over the assembleddish and bake it in a moderate oven for 20 minutes. The biggest philosophicaldifference though, lies in the presence of tomato paste. Palermitano’stypically leave it out altogether, whereas cooks further west and south in Trappani,Marsala and, particularly Agrigento, would claim it as an essentialingredient.

Ever the diplomats, we (probably to the aggravation ofnative Sicilians) chose the middle ground, and elected to use anchovies andbucatini, leave out the tomato paste, cook all the sardines in the sauce, andadd both breadcrumbs and broken almonds, but we chose not to bake it. It waswonderful: crunchy, salty and sweet, and with a profound maritime flavoroverlaid perfectly by the fennel.

Those of you with an aversion to small oily fish shouldprobably avoid this dish completely for substitutions of whiter, milder speciescannot be recommended, unless even greater Sicilian wrath is desired. And, ifencouragement to try something different is needed, look no further than thetwin factors of wholesomeness and economy. Sardines and pasta are still veryaffordable, and, for us, halfway through a month-long meatless regimen ahead ofa warm weather vacation, it checked all the taste and healthful boxes.

Pasta con le Sarde Italian recipe (Long pasta with sardines)(serves 4)

Ingredients

-         1lb (1/2 kilo) dried long pasta (spaghetti, bucatini,perciatelli)

-         1 fennel bulb, tops removed and reserved, sliced waferthin

-         1 medium yellow onion, sliced thinly

-         3-4 cloves garlic, finely sliced.

-         4-6 medium sardines (1lb / 1/2 kilo), cleaned and boned

-         handful golden raisins (sultanas)

-         handful pine nuts (pignoli)

-         1 small glass dry white wine

-         2 handfuls day-old bread crumbs

-         1 handful roughly chopped almonds

-         3 salted anchovies

-         1 pinch saffron

-         freshly ground black pepper

-         sea salt to taste

-         good quality olive oil

-         chopped flat leaf parsley (optional)

Recipe:

-         Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil

-         In a saute pan, bring 3 tablespoons of olive oil tomedium heat

-         Saute onions, garlic and fennel (not including reservedtops) until softened.

-         Add sardines and anchovies, stir to break up anchovies.

-         Turn heat to high and after 30 seconds add white wineand saffron.

-         Stir again, reduce heat to low after 1 minute.

-         Cover for 5 minutes and allow to steam.

-         Add pasta to large pot of salted water.

-         Remove of saute pan lid, stir sardines so fish startsto flake and fall apart into the sauce.

-         Add golden raisins and pine nuts.

-         Taste for seasoning, correct accordingly.

-         When pasta is done – around 7 minutes – scoop a ladleof pasta water into sardine sauce before draining pasta and adding it to sautepan.

-         Stir pasta well to coat with sauce.

-         Allow to cook for another minute

-         Kill heat, and sprinkle in breadcrumbs, choppedalmonds, fennel tops and chopped parsley (optional).

-         Stir well and serve with a chilled glass of the samewine.