Pasta con Sarde
And a quick outtake -- the pan looks so lonely! Anyone else want a helping?
Some strong flavors in attendance! White wine, pine nuts, garlic, fennel, currants, fennel seeds, sardines, onion, red pepper flakes, bucatini, and anchovies.
We love a good mise en place. Isn't Amanda's new counter beautiful?
Amanda uses a knife to pry out the backbones of the tinned sardines.
The fennel and onions sweat as Amanda salts them -- not too much though, the anchovies will take care of the rest!
Garlic on deck! It always helps to have ingredients at the ready.
A white wine bath for the sauteeing fennel. On the other burner, the pasta water comes to a boil.
Add in those sardines -- blanka.n instructs us us to break them up with a wooden spoon.
A sprinkling of currants adds bite and color to the sauce.
Pine nuts, that Italian classic, add crunch!
We love the depth of triple-fennel recipes -- seeds, root, and fronds.
When the bucatini hits the boiling water, you know you're in the home stretch.
Amanda runs back to the cutting board to chop fennel fronds for the garnish.
Reserving a cup of starchy water before draining the pasta is good insurance against a dry sauce.
The al dente pasta is dumped into the sauce, still hot.
Toss the pasta until the strands glisten with sauce -- there's plenty to go around.
Serve in tangles, and eat by the plate.
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Author Notes: I fell is love with this dish some 25 years ago when a restaurant in Manhattan named Siracusa (long gone) had it on their menu. Today, no Italian restaurant I frequent makes this wonderful pasta.
Since I really love it and there are no complicated or hidden ingredients, I've been making it at home and even served it one year for our fish-only xmas even dinner.
It's simple and forgiving and the amounts can be adjusted to suit individual tastes.
Bucatini is the traditional pasta used but it's often hard to find so spaghetti will work fine. - blanka.n
Food52 Review: WHO: FOOD52er blanka.n is a food writer living in New York.
WHAT: A classic Italian seafood pasta with both anchoves and sardines, round out with fennel and a healthy hit of olive oil.
HOW: Not counting the pot you use to boil the pasta, this is a one-dish meal -- weeknight dinner, anyone?
WHY WE LOVE IT: The flavors and textures of this pasta are perfectly balanced, from the bite of the currants to the crunch of the pine nuts. - A&M
Serves 4 - 6
- 1 Small onion
- 1/2 cup Olive oil
- 1 Fennel bulb, thinly sliced, reserve fronds
- Salt and Pepper
- 3 Garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 cup White wine
- 6 Flat anchovies
- 2 Cans of sardines
- 4 tablespoons Dried currants or raisins
- 4 tablespoons Pine nuts
- 1 teaspoon Fennel seeds, crushed
- dashes Red Pepper flakes
- 1 pound Bucatini pasta
- Saute onion and fennel in a pan large enough to hold pasta. Cook for about 5 minutes, add garlic, salt and pepper. Continue to cook until soft. Add wine and continue cooking. Add anchovies and sardines, breaking them up with wooden spoon. Add currants, pine nuts, fennel seeds and pepper flakes. Continue on very low flame.
- Boil pasta til al dente and add to sardine mixture. Add some of the pasta cooking water to create sauce if too dry. You can also add more olive oil and serve with reserved chopped fronds.
- Your Best Canned Fish Recipe Contest Finalist!
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3 months ago Food212
Aaah blanka.n therenis still one place left!!! Del' Arte in Orangeburg, NY Near Nyack in Rockland County. A great family run place, it was a special, but I think they moved it to the regular menu. The chef amd owner told me it was how his grandmother coocked when he grew up. Worth the drive. Ask if on the menu, if mot ask if he will cook it for you!!
Bill
3 months ago michael.quisao
If you need even more richness, add a dollop of creme fraiche to your leftovers. Yum.
3 months ago michael.quisao
My wife and I made this last night and we loved it. What a great pantry dinner!
3 months ago ela_tarantella
Buono! But not just Italian, it's Sicilian! And a very well-like dish in Sicily... most people I ask in Sicily tell me that pasta con le sarde is their favorite Sicilian pasta dish.
3 months ago ela_tarantella
*well-liked
5 months ago monstermeggers
Just made this tonight, and this is a new pasta favourite! Really easy and super quick. Fantastic recipe!
5 months ago meeshybells
This is such a traditional Sicilian specialty usually included in the Christmas Eve dinner. There is a great canned version (Pastene brand) of this sauce made with wild Italian fennel and currants, which is the Italian cook's choice for this recipe. Usually we tweak the canned contents with sauteed onion and tomato paste and you then have the traditional recipe.
6 months ago blanka.n
Thanks for all the praise! What I really love is that this is a year-round pasta dish that can be served for 2 or a dinner party.
9 months ago kstallbe
Blanka, thanks so much for sharing this. I have added this dish to the rotation of my weeknight meals and I love it. I have to admit that my wife only tolerates it, but who cares, I do the cooking! HAHA!
10 months ago student epicure
this is one of my favorite food52 recipes! i like to add an extra fennel bulb to increase the veg content. really, spectacular.
10 months ago Sarag
Just from reading through the recope I can tell this will be wonderful. I hope it will be wonderful enough to redeem my not so great gluten free pasta.
about 1 year ago AnnieHynes
I made this for the family, didn't tell my teenagers that it contained sardines and anchovies...needless to say they loved it! your use of fennel was inspired! Thanks for sharing!!
about 1 year ago kstallbe
This was amazing. Ive made several fish and pasta dishes, and this, by far, was the best I have ever had. My wife, who usually grimaces at my fish and pasta dishes, loved this one.
I nominate this for a genius recipe! Thanks for sharing!
about 1 year ago kstallbe
Oh, and I cheated by using anchovy paste and it came out great,
about 1 year ago Kitchen Butterfly
Congratulations - it sounds lovely with the sweet currants and the pine nuts too. Well done
about 1 year ago vrunka
Wow, this sounds fabulous -- just the kind of dish I love! Congrats!
about 1 year ago soupandsong
Can't wait to try this!
about 1 year ago BlueKaleRoad
Congratulations! As a lover of both anchovies and sardines I'll definitely be making this pasta dish. I love the addition of fennel, too. Looks scrumptious!