Pasta con le
Sarde
Sicilian pasta with sardines & fennel
Sardines and fennel coat the pasta with a savory sauce, balanced by raisins, pine nuts, saffron and a toasted breadcrumb finish.
Bucatini, sardines, fennel & toasted crumbsSardines and fennel,
a Sicilian pairing.
Pasta con le sarde brings sardines and fennel together in a Sicilian first course. Raisins add small sweet notes, pine nuts give a gentle crunch, and anchovies deepen the sauce. Toasted breadcrumbs make a crisp finish around the soft fish and pasta.
Preparations vary across the island, including versions with tomato or a final bake. Wild fennel gives many local versions their distinctive aroma. This home recipe uses cultivated fennel, fronds and a little fennel seed as an explicit substitute, with long bucatini.
Explore by food: Fish & seafood · Pasta
Let’s make pasta con le sarde.
A defined home version using cultivated fennel in place of wild fennel. Buy cleaned, deboned fresh sardine fillets; whole-fish cleaning is additional.
Four first-course portions; starts with 300 g cleaned, deboned fresh sardine fillets.
The 50-minute cooking allowance is elapsed time: the raisin soak, water heating and pasta cooking run alongside the pan work.
What you’ll need
- 320 gdried bucatini
- 300 gcleaned fresh sardine fillets, checked for remaining bones and cut into 3 cm pieces
- 200 gfennel bulb, finely diced
- 20 gfennel fronds, finely chopped
- ¼ tspfennel seeds, crushed
- 120 gonion, finely chopped
- 30 graisins
- 30 gpine nuts
- 0.1 gsaffron threads
- 4anchovy fillets in oil, drained
- 60 mlextra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 40 gplain dried breadcrumbs
- 100 mlwarm water, for the raisins and saffron
- 3 lwater, for the pasta
- 2 tspfine salt, for the pasta water
- to tastefine salt and black pepper, for the sauce
The measured fennel bulb, fronds and seeds are a practical home substitute for wild fennel, not the same ingredient. This recipe uses bucatini and breadcrumbs. Cooking time includes heating the pasta water; start with prepared fillets.
How to make it
- 01
Soak and toast
Soak the raisins and saffron in the 100 ml warm water for 10 minutes. Toast pine nuts in a dry skillet for 2–3 minutes, then lift out. Add 15 ml oil and the breadcrumbs and stir over medium-low heat for 3–4 minutes until golden; set aside separately.
- 02
Soften the fennel
Put the 3 l pasta water on to heat. In a wide skillet, heat the remaining 45 ml oil over medium-low heat. Add onion, fennel bulb and crushed fennel seeds. Cook for 12–15 minutes, stirring, until soft; lower the heat if they start to brown.
- 03
Cook the bucatini
Salt the boiling water and start the bucatini, following its packet’s al dente timing. While it cooks, finish the sauce in the next step. Reserve 250 ml cooking water before draining.
- 04
Build the sauce
While the pasta cooks, stir the anchovies into the fennel until they break up, about 1 minute. Add raisins, saffron and their soaking water, then simmer for 5 minutes. Add sardine pieces and cook gently for 4–5 minutes until opaque and at least 63°C/145°F. Fold carefully to leave some fish pieces intact, then take off the heat if the pasta is not yet ready.
- 05
Finish gently
Fold the pasta into the sauce over low heat with 60 ml reserved water, adding more if needed for a loose coating. Take off the heat, add fennel fronds and pine nuts, and taste for seasoning. Divide among four plates and scatter over the toasted breadcrumbs.
More to discover…
SecondiAcqua Pazza
White fish gently poaches with tomatoes, garlic and white wine, leaving a light broth to spoon up with bread.
PrimiAgnolotti del Plin
Small pinched pasta parcels hold a fine filling of braised veal, pork and spinach, dressed simply with butter and sage.
Street foodArancini
Golden Sicilian rice balls with a crisp breadcrumb shell and a filling of meat ragù, peas and melting cheese.