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Stunning Western Sicily and the1 Reason you Need to Make Pasta Sarde
Print Recipe

Pasta Con Sarde

This pasta dish is a staple in Sicily. Made many different ways, this was the one way I thought was most traditional!
Prep Time40 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup olive oil, divided plus extra for finishing
  • 1/2 fennel bulb (about 1 cup) diced, reserving fronds
  • salt and pepper extra seasoning of your choice for breadcrumbs
  • 3 garlic cloves minced
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 2 anchovies
  • 1 can of sardines (about 4)
  • 1/4 cup raisins if they are dry, soak them in hot water
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts
  • 1 package bucatini pasta you can sub in any kind of pasta

For the bread crumb topping:

  • 2 pieces bread, pulsed in a blender or roughly chopped
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • seasoning to taste

Instructions

  • In a large pan (must be large enough to hold the entire dish), warm up 1/3 cup of the olive oil over medium heat, then sauté the onion and fennel. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until they just start to soften, and add garlic, salt, and pepper.
  • Cook until the onion and fennel are soft then add wine, stirring to combine. Add the anchovies, breaking them up with wooden spoon. Next, add sardines and, once they are heated through, add the raisins and pine nuts. Turn the heat down to low and continue cooking, making sure it doesn't burn.
  • Meanwhile, boil pasta until it is al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving some of the pasta water for later (or, you can simply pull the cooked bucatini out of the water and add directly to the sauce).
  • While pasta is cooking, place the pulsed bread crumbs into a hot skillet with the remaining oil and toast the breadcrumbs until they begin to brown. Season with a bit of salt and pepper and anything else you desire (some people add ground fennel); set aside
  • Add the drained pasta to the sardine mixture - adding some of the pasta cooking water will add a 'smoothness' to the sauce because it has some of the starch that leaches out of the pasta while cooking. Plate your pasta and sprinkle with the toasted breadcrumbs and drizzle with more olive oil and serve with reserved fennel fronds