Pasta with sardines

Method8 steps · about 1 hr 25 min

1. 1

   Step 1: Clean the fresh sardines (500 g) if needed: remove heads and backbones, open gently and rinse away waste. Set the clean fish aside. Soak the raisins (30 g) in separate water for about 10 minutes.

   Soak raisins · 10 minUses 500 g fresh sardines · 30 g raisins · separate water for soaking raisins

2. 2

   Step 2: Finely slice the onion. Rinse and remove bones from the salted anchovies (5), then put them in a pan with the onion and the 50 g sauce oil. Cook over low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring often until the onion softens and anchovies dissolve without burning.

   Soften onion and dissolve anchovies · 10 minUses 80 g yellow onion · 5 salted anchovies · 50 g extra virgin olive oil

3. 3

   Step 3: Dissolve the saffron (1 package) in its separate measured 70 g water and pour into the prepared onion/anchovy base. Add the cleaned sardines.

   Uses 70 g water · 1 package ground saffron · fresh sardines with heads/backbones removed and rinsed · 80 g sliced onion/five rinsed boned salted anchovies softened 10 minutes in 50 g oil

4. 4

   Step 4: Drain and rinse the soaked raisins and add to the sardine sauce with the ground almonds (30 g) and whole pine nuts (25 g). Stir and simmer over low heat for another 10 minutes.

   Simmer sardine sauce · 10 minUses 25 g pine nuts · 30 g almonds · 30 g raisins soaked 10 minutes in separate water then drained/rinsed · clean sardines added to onion base with saffron dissolved in 70 g water

5. 5

   Step 5: Trim tough parts from the 180 g wild fennel to obtain about 125 g tender fennel and rinse. Blanch in a large pot of boiling separate water for a couple of minutes. Drain, reserving the water for pasta, and let cool enough to handle.

   Uses 180 g wild fennel · separate water for blanching fennel, reuse for pasta

6. 6

   Step 6: Squeeze the blanched fennel well, chop into short pieces and stir into the cooked sardine sauce. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

   Uses Fine salt to taste · Black pepper to taste · about 125 g tender cleaned fennel blanched briefly and drained · sardine sauce with raisins almonds pine nuts simmered 10 minutes

7. 7

   Step 7: Cook the bucatini (320 g) in the reserved fennel water until al dente according to the package. Meanwhile, toast the breadcrumbs (30 g) in the separate 10 g breadcrumb oil, stirring often until golden.

   Uses 320 g bucatini · 30 g breadcrumbs · 10 g extra virgin olive oil · same fennel blanching water reused for pasta

8. 8

   Step 8: Drain the cooked bucatini and toss briefly in the prepared fennel/sardine sauce. Serve topped with the prepared toasted breadcrumbs.

   Uses 320 g bucatini cooked in reserved fennel water and drained · cooked sardine/nut/raisin sauce mixed with chopped blanched fennel and seasoning · 30 g breadcrumbs toasted in separate 10 g oil