Pasta con le sarde is bucatini or perciatelli with fresh sardines, wild fennel, anchovies, sultanas, pine nuts and saffron, finished with toasted breadcrumbs; it is most associated with Palermo.

Wikipedia says the dish is most associated with Palermo but found all over Sicily, and Italy lists it among its traditional agri-food products. Italian Wikipedia describes it as seasonal, made from March to September, when fresh sardines are at market and wild fennel can be gathered. The Palermo version is cooked in bianco, without tomato, while a variant around Agrigento uses tomato paste. Pino Correnti argues that the tomato-free recipe published by Giuseppe Pitrè in 1886 is the only authentic one. It is among the foods eaten at the Festino di Santa Rosalia.

Where to eat Pasta con le sarde in Palermo

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Make it at home

Serves 445 minIntermediate

Ingredients

  • 400g bucatini or perciatelli
  • 500g fresh sardines, cleaned and filleted
  • 200g wild fennel fronds (or 1 large bulb fennel with fronds)
  • 50g pine nuts
  • 50g sultanas, soaked in warm water 20 minutes
  • 6 salted anchovies in oil, chopped
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 1g saffron threads
  • 80g coarse breadcrumbs, toasted in olive oil
  • Extra-virgin olive oil
  • Sea salt

Method

  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Add fennel fronds; blanch 5 minutes. Reserve fennel water; chop fronds.
  2. Toast breadcrumbs in 3 tablespoons olive oil until deep golden. Set aside.
  3. Sweat the onion in olive oil with chopped anchovies until soft and dissolved.
  4. Add sardine fillets (reserving a few for garnish), pine nuts, drained sultanas, saffron and chopped fennel. Cook 5 minutes.
  5. Cook bucatini in the reserved fennel water until al dente. Drain, reserving a cupful of cooking water.
  6. Toss pasta with the sardine sauce and a splash of pasta water. Top with toasted breadcrumbs and the reserved whole sardines.

Editor tip. Wild fennel fronds are essential; if you cannot find them, use the fronds of a bulb fennel plus a teaspoon of fennel seeds, never the bulb itself.

Common allergens: Gluten, Fish, Nuts.