Pasta con le sarde is a traditional Sicilian dish that combines the flavors of fresh sardines, wild fennel, and pine nuts. This delightful pasta dish is a symphony of flavors and textures, with the delicate sardines providing a briny, slightly oily richness, the wild fennel adding a touch of subtle sweetness and aniseed flavor, and the toasted pine nuts offering a nutty crunch. The recipe starts with cleaning and filleting the sardines, then sautéing them gently with garlic and olive oil. The wild fennel is added next, along with capers, raisins, and pine nuts, creating a fragrant and flavorful base for the pasta. Finally, the cooked pasta is tossed with the sardine mixture, creating a vibrant and colorful dish. Along with the traditional recipe, we've also included variations such as pasta con le sarde al pesto, which adds a layer of nutty, aromatic flavor, and pasta con le sarde alla ghiotta, a richer version made with tomatoes and white wine. Whether you prefer the classic preparation or one of the variations, pasta con le sarde is a culinary journey to the heart of Sicily.
Here are our top 5 tried and tested recipes!
PASTA CON LE SARDE (SICILIAN PASTA WITH SARDINES) RECIPE
A classic pasta from Palermo in Siciliy, pasta con le sarde (pasta with sardines) is unlike just about any other Italian pasta dish. Heavily influenced by the cooking of Arabs that ruled Sicily more than a thousand years ago, it features long bucatini or spaghetti in a slick, luscious, and fragrant sauce made from onions, fennel, raisins, pine nuts, anchovies, sardines, and saffron. Instead of cheese, toasted and seasoned bread crumbs grace the plate.
Provided by Daniel Gritzer
Categories Mains Quick Dinners
Time 35m
Yield 4
Number Of Ingredients 13
Steps:
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Mince half the fennel fronds and reserve the other half whole.
- Add pine nuts and sardines and cook, stirring, until sardines are just barely cooked through, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta until al dente, then drain, reserving at least 1 cup pasta cooking water.
- Transfer pasta to skillet along with 1/4 cup pasta cooking water. Return skillet to medium-high heat and cook, stirring and tossing, until pasta is well coated in sauce and any excess liquid has cooked off. Drizzle on some fresh olive oil (don't be shy) along with the minced fennel fronds, and toss well. Season with salt. Add a very small handful of bread crumbs and toss once more.
- If at any point the pasta becomes too dry, add additional pasta cooking water in 1/4-cup increments, and toss to loosen and moisten (you can also drizzle on more olive oil as desired). The noodles should be slick and glossy with a sheen of sauce, but not sitting in a watery puddle.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 749 kcal, Carbohydrate 59 g, Cholesterol 146 mg, Fiber 6 g, Protein 38 g, SaturatedFat 6 g, Sodium 720 mg, Sugar 13 g, Fat 40 g, ServingSize Serves 4, UnsaturatedFat 0 g
PASTA CON LE SARDE
When the photographer and filmmaker Robert Trachtenberg brought this recipe to The Times in 2008, he described it as "a perfectly balanced combination of sardines, fennel, currants and bread crumbs." Adapted from Gusto in Greenwich Village, this seafood pasta needs no cheese: The saltiness and bite from the sardines and the sautéed vegetables should be more than enough.
Provided by Robert Trachtenberg
Categories dinner, pastas, main course
Time 1h
Yield Serves 4
Number Of Ingredients 16
Steps:
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Combine the currants, red-pepper flakes and wine in a bowl; set aside. In a small sauté pan, melt the butter. Add the bread crumbs and cook, stirring, until golden brown. Transfer to a bowl, stir in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and set aside.
- In a heavy skillet, heat 1/2 cup olive oil over medium-low heat. When hot, add the onion, garlic, fennel bulb and fennel seeds. Season with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the fennel is tender, about 25 minutes.
- Add the wine mixture and the sardines, breaking them into pieces with a fork. Bring to a boil and gently simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add enough salt to the boiling water so that it tastes salty. Boil the bucatini until al dente, 6 to 8 minutes; strain. Return the pasta to the pasta pot and set over low heat. Fold in the fennel-sardine mixture. Toss in the remaining 4 tablespoons olive oil. Add 3/4 of the fennel fronds, the pine nuts, the capers and a quarter of the bread crumbs. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Divide pasta among plates and sprinkle the remaining bread crumbs and fennel fronds over each. Serve immediately.
PASTA CON SARDE (PASTA WITH SARDINES)
This dish is super fast and easy, made from a recipe that has been passed down from relatives in Italy. The leftovers taste great cold, too!
Provided by Mama Adg
Categories World Cuisine Recipes European Italian
Time 25m
Yield 4
Number Of Ingredients 9
Steps:
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti, and cook until al dente, or 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, and rinse under cold water. Toss with 1/4 cup olive oil, cover and keep warm.
- Place another 1/4 cup olive oil in a skillet, and heat over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, and cook just until golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the sardines, and cook 1 minute more. Stir in the bread crumbs and 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese. If necessary to give the mixture a crumbly texture, stir in the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil. Stir in the parsley and pepper, and remove from the heat. If desired, serve with additional Parmesan cheese.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 1045.6 calories, Carbohydrate 106.5 g, Cholesterol 86.9 mg, Fat 52.4 g, Fiber 5.4 g, Protein 35.9 g, SaturatedFat 8.4 g, Sodium 930.4 mg, Sugar 4.9 g
PASTA (BUCATINI) CON LE SARDE (SARDINES)
This is a simple, but classic, Sicilian pasta that has Arabic overtones. The sauce is made with fennel, raisins, sardines and pine nuts. It is usually spooned over a broad or tubular pasta and then topped with a generous sprinkling of toasted breadcrumbs. While I have chosen a simple toss and top application, some cooks prefer to create multiple layers using these ingredients. The breadcrumbs in the dish are used in place of cheese and at one time they actually served that function for the poor. They also have a symbolic importance for those who observe St. Joseph's Day. As you know, Joseph was a carpenter and the breadcrumbs that crown this dish are used because they resemble the sawdust that would be found on the floor of a carpenter's workshop. Pasta con sarde is also known as St. Joseph's pasta, and in those communities where his feast day is still celebrated, you'll find this pasta on family tables, as well as on symbolic altars set up to feed the poor.
Provided by Phil Franco
Categories One Dish Meal
Time 1h
Yield 2 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 16
Steps:
- Directions:.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- Combine the raisins, red-pepper flakes and wine in a bowl; set aside.
- In a small saute pan, melt the butter.
- Add the bread crumbs and cook, stirring, until golden brown.
- Transfer to a bowl, stir in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and set aside.
- In a heavy skillet, heat 1/2 cup olive oil over medium-low heat.
- When hot, add the onion, garlic, fennel bulb and fennel seeds.
- Season with salt.
- Cook, stirring occasionally, until the fennel is tender, about 25 minutes.
- Add the wine mixture and the sardines, breaking them into pieces with a fork.
- Bring to a boil and gently simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add enough salt to the boiling water so that it tastes salty.
- Boil the bucatini until 'al dente', 6 to 8 minutes; strain.
- Return the pasta to the pot and set over low heat.
- Fold in the fennel-sardine mixture.
- Toss in the remaining 4 tablespoons olive oil.
- Add 3/4 of the fennel fronds, the pine nuts, the capers and a quarter of the bread crumbs.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Divide pasta among plates and sprinkle the remaining bread crumbs and fennel fronds over each.
- Serve immediately. Serves 2.
- That's it!
Nutrition Facts : Calories 1495.8, Fat 70.8, SaturatedFat 10.4, Cholesterol 330.3, Sodium 1658.3, Carbohydrate 133, Fiber 14, Sugar 16.7, Protein 79.2
CHEF JOHN'S PASTA CON LE SARDE
I'm no survivalist, but like any responsible chef I like to have a few cans of sardines stocked away, just in case. If times ever get tough, I could survive for hours, maybe days on them; but since things are going pretty well, I decided to dust off a can, and show you my version of Sicily's famous pasta con le sarde. You can substitute thick spaghetti for the bucatini, if desired.
Provided by Chef John
Categories World Cuisine Recipes European Italian
Time 1h
Yield 4
Number Of Ingredients 15
Steps:
- Cook and stir bread crumbs with 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium heat until bread crumbs are crispy and toasted, 2 to 5 minutes. Transfer breadcrumbs to a bowl to cool.
- Grind saffron threads with a mortar and pestle; pour white wine into mortar and stir to combine.
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook bucatini in boiling water, stirring occasionally until almost cooked through but firm to the bite, 10 to 11 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta water.
- Heat remaining olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir onion and fennel with a pinch of salt in hot oil until onion is soft, about 10 minutes.
- Stir raisins, garlic, and anchovy fillet into onion mixture; cook and stir until heated through, about 1 minute.
- Pour saffron-wine into skillet; cook until wine is almost evaporated, about 2 minutes. Pour 1 ladleful reserved pasta water into skillet and bring to a simmer. Stir pine nuts and red pepper flakes into sauce; simmer until flavors combine and sauce is reduced, about 5 minutes.
- Stir bucatini and sardines into wine mixture; increase heat to high, and cook, stirring frequently and adding more reserved pasta water as necessary, until sauce and pasta are heated through, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Ladle into bowls and top with fennel fronds and toasted bread crumbs.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 708.8 calories, Carbohydrate 72.2 g, Cholesterol 81.4 mg, Fat 33.3 g, Fiber 4.6 g, Protein 27.5 g, SaturatedFat 4.8 g, Sodium 531.8 mg, Sugar 8.9 g
Tips:
- Use Fresh Sardines: Fresh sardines are essential for this dish. Look for sardines that are firm and have shiny, silver skin. Avoid sardines that are soft or have a slimy texture.
- Clean the Sardines Properly: Before cooking, clean the sardines thoroughly by removing the heads, tails, and guts. Rinse the sardines under cold water and pat them dry with paper towels.
- Use Good Quality Pasta: Use a good quality pasta, such as bucatini or spaghetti, for this dish. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions.
- Cook the Sardines Gently: Do not overcook the sardines, as they will become tough and dry. Cook them gently over low heat until they are just cooked through.
- Add Flavorful Ingredients: Add flavorful ingredients, such as garlic, onions, tomatoes, and herbs, to the sauce to enhance the flavor of the dish.
- Serve Immediately: Serve the pasta bucatini con le sarde immediately after cooking, while it is still hot and the sardines are flaky.
Conclusion:
Pasta bucatini con le sarde is a delicious and flavorful Sicilian dish that is perfect for a summer meal. The combination of sardines, tomatoes, and herbs creates a light and refreshing sauce that pairs perfectly with the bucatini pasta. This dish is easy to make and can be enjoyed by people of all ages.
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