Pasta con le Sarde

I ate this dish on my second trip to Sicily. Since that time I wanted to try it at home. 

The food on the island was special. It showed the influences of the various people that had the reign over the island in centuries.

But the recipe fell off the to -cook -list completely. But I stumbled over an older YT video of Spaghetti con le Sarde and it went back on the list. Checking a lot of different websites I found several recipes. All were bit different. I made my own version.

Recipe for 2:

160 g Buccatini pasta, 1 can sardines, 3 anchovis, 1 medium yellow onion, 60 g raisins, 1 bulb of fennel, olive oil, 60 ml white wine, 80 ml tomato passata, lemon zest

2 cloves of garlic, 60 g Panko breadcrumbs, 1 tsp fennel seed, 30 g pine nuts

This is a bit tricky to get everything ready on time.

Best start with the pine nuts. Toast them in a dry pan without burning them. Put them in a bowl for later.

Use the same pan to toast the fennel seeds. When they smell nice, put them in a pestel and mortar and grind them. Peel the garlic and put it in the same pan with a good gluck of oil. Heat up and toss the fennel powder in. Now add the panko and let it get color. Take it out and set aside.

Cut the onion into strips. The fennel bulb in fine pieces too. Keep the green fonds for later. Now start the pasta.

In a large pan saute onion, anchovis and fennel until softened. Add raisins and wine and let that cook down completely. 

Take the sardines out of the oil and pat them dry. Flake them a bit.

Add passata and pine nuts and cook a bit. Now in with the sardines. Season with lots of pepper but be careful with the salt. Add enough pasta water to keep the sauce at a good consistency.

Drain the pasta and stir them through the sauce.  Plate, add breadcrumbs and a little lemon zest and fennel fonds.