Sicilian cuisine is a whole different kettle of fish compared to that found on the Italian mainland. With influences from North Africa across the Mediterranean, there are flavours that are wildly different than you would find in a restaurant in Rome or Florence.
Dishes like sweet-savoury-tangy caponata or rustic Trapani-style couscous are a great example, but so is the lesser-known pasta con le sarde – or sardine pasta. Packed with salty sardines, floral fennel, sweet sultanas and toasted pine nuts, this is a pasta dish like no other.
Though it’s traditionally made with fresh sardines, it’s just as delicious and simple to make using high-quality tinned sardines. Topped with a flavorful breadcrumb mix rather than parmesan cheese, this is sure to be new favourite dish to make.
How to Make Pasta con le Sarde
Whenever there is a nut element to any dish, I recommend beginning with toasting that nut. You obviously can skip this step, but you’re leaving a lot of flavour on the table. It’s also super easy.
Add your pine nuts to a rimmed baking sheet and then move them to a 180°C/350°F oven for 3-5 minutes, or until they’re golden and fragrant. Note that pine nuts can burn so easily, so keep a keen eye on them! Set the toasted nuts aside until needed.
Now it’s time to move onto the breadcrumb topping.
Fennel is a prominent flavour in this pasta dish and we use three different aspects of the plant – the seeds, the bulb and the fronds.
Start with putting some fennel seeds in a large skillet. Set it over medium-high heat and toast the seeds until they’re fragrant and beginning to dance around a bit – a couple of minutes. Add some oil and a minced clove of garlic. Cook until just fragrant – only about 30 seconds.
Then, add some panko breadcrumbs (no, these aren’t traditional Italian breadcrumbs, but they have a wonderful texture that works really well) and toss them in the oil.
Keep tossing the breadcrumbs until they’re golden and toasted – a few minutes. Remove them from the pan and set aside for later.
Now it’s time to get onto the sauce. Return the skillet to the heat and go ahead and add a bit more olive oil, more fennel seeds and some chopped anchovy fillets. Cook until the anchovy fillets begin to dissolve – this will only take a few minutes.
Then, add some minced shallot (or use half a yellow onion) and a minced fennel bulb along with a generous pinch of salt. Cook this, stirring frequently, for several minutes.
You want everything to soften and the veggies to begin to start browning. When you reach this stage, add more minced garlic and cook until fragrant.
Add some sultanas (golden raisins) along with some roughly chopped tinned sardines that have been drained from their oil. Use the best quality sardines you can get as they do future prominently in this pasta dish.
Stir all of this to combine and then deglaze the pan with some dry white wine. Then go ahead and remove the pan from the heat while you cook your pasta for 2 minutes less than the package suggest, making sure to reserve a good amount of the cooking water once done.
Return the pan to the heat and ladle in a bit of pasta cooking water. Add the pasta, a squeeze of lemon juice and some chopped fennel fronds. Toss everything to combine. Off heat, stir in the toasted pine nuts.
Serve the pasta immediately, topping with the toasted breadcrumbs.
Sicilian Sardine Pasta
Ingredients
- 20 g (2 tbsp) pine nuts
- 1½ tsp fennel seeds divided
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 25 g (¼ cup) panko breadcrumbs
- 4 anchovy fillets roughly chopped
- 1 large shallot minced
- ½ bulb fennel peeled, cored & minced, fronds reserved and roughly chopped
- 200 g (7 oz) tinned sardines drained from oil and roughly chopped
- 20 g (1 tbsp) sultanas/golden raisins
- 60 ml (¼ cup) dry white wine
- 250 g (½ lb) spaghetti
- 1-2 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F. Add the pine nuts to a rimmed baking sheet and toast in oven until golden and fragrant – about 5 minutes. Set aside.
- Add ½ tsp of the fennel seeds to a large skillet. Set over medium-high heat. Toast the seeds until fragrant and begging to dance in the pan, about 1-2 minutes.
- Add one tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet along with one clove of minced garlic. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds, before adding the panko breadcrumbs. Season with salt and pepper and toss until the breadcrumbs are golden and toasted – about 2 minutes. Remove from the skillet and set aside.
- Return the now empty skillet to the heat and add 2 tbsp of olive oil, the remaining fennel seeds and the anchovy fillets. Cook stirring frequently, until the anchovies begin to dissolve – about 2 minutes.
- Add the shallot and fennel along with a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until softened and translucent – 3-5 minutes. Add the remaining garlic and cook until fragrant, another 30 seconds.
- Stir in the sardines and sultanas and cook for another minute. Deglaze the pan with the wine and cook until reduced and the alcoholic smell has cooked off – another minute or two. Remove the pan from the heat.
- Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a rolling boil and add the spaghetti. Cook for 2 minutes less than the package suggests, reserving at least 250ml (1 cup) of pasta cooking water.
- Return the skillet to medium heat and the cooked pasta along with the lemon juice, 60ml (¼ cup) of pasta cooking water and some of the fennel fronds. Toss the pasta in the sauce, adding more cooking water to adjust the consistency as needed. Turn off the heat and add in the toasted pine nuts. Serve, topping with the toasted bread crumbs and more fennel fronds.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Nutritional information is automatically generated and provided as guidance only. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
This classic Sicilian pasta is an excellent usage of tinned fish and the perfect unique spin on a traditional tomato pasta. It is relatively simple to make and absolutely packed with flavour.
Are you after a great recipe for paste con le sarde? Have any questions? Let me know in the comments!
