PASTA WITH SARDINES AND FENNEL
This traditional Sicilian dish makes a festive main course, especially when served from a giant platter. Sweet and savory flavors mingle beautifully here, with currants, raisins, saffron and pine nuts. Aromatic wild fennel fronds and fresh sardines are preferred, but even if made with cultivated fennel and canned sardines, this is a magnificent dish.
Provided by David Tanis
Categories pastas, main course
Time 1h
Yield 6 servings
Number Of Ingredients 21
Steps:
- In a small skillet, toast bread crumbs in 2 tablespoons olive oil until golden. Season with salt and pepper and a pinch of sugar. Set aside.
- Simmer the fennel fronds in a large pot of salted water until tender, about 10 minutes. Remove and spread out on a platter to cool. Do not discard cooking water. When fronds are cool, chop finely with a large knife (or pulse in a food processor with a little of the cooking water).
- Put raisins and currants in a bowl and cover with the white wine and 1/2 cup hot fennel-cooking water. Add crumbled saffron and let ingredients steep together for 10 minutes.
- In a large skillet, stew the onions and diced fennel in 6 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat until softened, about 10 minutes. Season generously with salt and pepper. Add anchovies, ground fennel and coriander seeds, garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for 2 minutes more. Stir in reserved fennel fronds. Add the raisin mixture and its liquid and bring to a simmer.
- Season the fresh sardine fillets with salt and pepper and lay them on top of the onion mixture. Put a lid on the pan and turn off the heat for about 5 minutes, so sardines cook through and are just done. Stir to distribute chunks of fish throughout mixture. (If using canned sardines, skip this step and simply stir them in.)
- Boil the bucatini in the fennel cooking water (add more water to the pot if necessary). Cook until noodles are on the firm side of al dente, then drain, reserving 1 cup of pasta water. Add pasta to pan with onion-sardine mixture, sprinkle pasta lightly with salt and gently toss together, adding a little pasta water to keep everything well moistened. Taste and correct seasoning; it should be well seasoned.
- Transfer to a large platter or wide pasta bowl. Sprinkle with bread crumbs, pine nuts and parsley. Garnish with lemon wedges. Add a drizzle of olive oil, if desired.
Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 674, UnsaturatedFat 11 grams, Carbohydrate 101 grams, Fat 15 grams, Fiber 8 grams, Protein 32 grams, SaturatedFat 3 grams, Sodium 846 milligrams, Sugar 24 grams
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Kelsy De la cruz
[email protected]This recipe was a disaster! The sardines were mushy and the fennel was overpowering.
Raheem Farrukh
[email protected]This dish was a bit too fishy for my taste. I think I'll stick to traditional pasta dishes.
Korah-Lynn Byers
[email protected]I'm not a big fan of sardines, but I thought I'd give this recipe a try. I was pleasantly surprised! The sardines were mild and flavorful, and the fennel added a nice touch.
Bhatti Azeem
[email protected]This pasta dish is a great way to sneak some vegetables into your kids' diet.
Isabel Baron
[email protected]I added some chopped sun-dried tomatoes to this dish and it was delicious!
F Re
[email protected]This dish is a great way to use up leftover sardines. It's also a very budget-friendly meal.
Ahmad Obhaya
[email protected]I'm not a fan of fennel, but I still enjoyed this dish. The sardines and pasta were cooked perfectly.
Ms Sumaiya
[email protected]This pasta dish is a great way to get your kids to eat sardines. The fennel helps to disguise the fishy taste.
Ovi Roy
[email protected]I love the combination of sardines and fennel. This dish is a great way to enjoy both of these ingredients.
Astrid Korner
[email protected]This dish was easy to make and very flavorful. I used fresh fennel from my garden and it really made a difference.
Obi
[email protected]I'm not a big fan of sardines, but I was pleasantly surprised by this dish. The fennel really mellowed out the flavor of the sardines.
iheart Magezi
[email protected]The flavors in this dish were amazing! The sardines and fennel were a perfect combination.
Rilwan Nowfer
[email protected]This pasta dish was a hit with my family! The sardines and fennel added a unique and flavorful twist to the classic pasta dish. I will definitely be making this again.