“One of the best mixtures of pasta and fish,” in line with (the additionally nice) Anna del Conte, the flavours of this Sicilian speciality replicate the turbulent historical past of Italy’s south. In her guide Two Kitchens, Rachel Roddy tells the story of the ninth-century Byzantine commander Euphemius of Messina who, feeling peckish after touchdown close to Marsala, tasked his cooks with making dinner from what they might discover to eat there. “The hillside offered them with wild fennel, raisins and pine nuts, the ocean with fish … a lovely legend,” Roddy concludes, “which, whether or not true or not, ties the dish to a spot and time, and reminds us of the riches that after thrived – and nonetheless thrive – in Sicily.”
The usage of fruit and saffron suggests the culinary affect of the north Africans who displaced the Byzantines, however whoever’s accountable, they need to be thanked for a flavour mixture that Elizabeth David data as “discordant however thrilling” – the right description for this deeply fragrant dish.
The fish
Because the identify implies, this dish is made with sardines, which is useful, as a result of we get such good ones within the UK in summer time. Given their silvery magnificence, I can see why each Alan Davidson, creator of the magisterial Mediterranean Seafood, and del Conte select to make use of some entire fish as a garnish, however seeing as they simply find yourself blended into the remaining, except you’re actually seeking to impress, I wouldn’t trouble. (In case you are, put aside one sardine per individual, take away the top and backbone, and fry in a little or no oil till flippantly golden on each side.) That mentioned, I don’t suppose you should lower them up very small, both, as Davidson does with the rest; most will break up within the pan anyway, nevertheless it’s good to have some bigger chunks in there to remind you what you’re consuming.
Although she requires recent fish, Marcella Hazan laments in her Necessities of Traditional Italian Cooking that, on account of its “uncommon and unpredictable” provide, this “could have to get replaced by canned sardines”. I do this with sardines in olive oil, and the marginally salty, deliciously oily fish collapses so obligingly into the sauce that I virtually favor it, in order that they’re an important possibility in the event you can’t pay money for recent fish.
Although much less seen within the ultimate dish, anchovies are virtually as vital for the intensely savoury high quality they lend the dish, which, because of the dried fruit and aniseedy fennel, dangers being reasonably candy in any other case. Hazan cooks them above a pan of simmering water, and Davidson does so off the warmth, however in the event you purchase the type packed in oil, reasonably than salt, they need to soften fortunately into the remaining with none such cosseting.
The fennel
Or, strictly talking, fennel tops. As Roddy’s story makes clear, that is historically made with wild fennel, a far hardier and extra pungent affair than the stuff cultivated for its pallid bulbs. She relates seeing individuals gathering it on the riverbank close to her dwelling in Rome, and fortunately it’s additionally a standard wild plant in most of England, and on coasts elsewhere within the UK; it’s mentioned to have been launched by the Romans – the truth is, one web site informs me it thrives to such an extent that it’s typically thought-about “a pest”, clearly by individuals who’ve by no means tried pasta con le sarde.
There’s a wholesome quantity rising by the canal close to me in north London, however in the event you can’t discover any, or cultivated fennel with the fronds intact (farmers’ markets are typically a greater supply than greengrocers or supermarkets), I wouldn’t trouble utilizing the bulb as a substitute, as many recipes recommend, as a result of it lacks the identical depth of flavour, and easily will get misplaced amongst all the opposite substances. A greater concept is to stay in what fronds yow will discover, after which, like del Conte, add fennel seeds as effectively – you actually can’t miss them. When you can’t discover both, Stefano Arturi of the Italian House Cooking weblog tells me he substitutes dill, including it uncooked on the very finish.
“In conventional recipes, the wild fennel is boiled to remove among the bitterness,” Roddy explains, although the 20 minutes beneficial by the Silver Spoon feels extreme. It’s onerous to be too prescriptive, given that everybody’s fennel will probably be totally different, however whereas I don’t suppose cultivated fennel tops, except they’re notably sturdy of stem, require even the briefest blanching earlier than use, the five-minute boil in Nonna Fina’s recipe, collected in Anastasia Miari and Iska Lupton’s Grand Dishes, feels ample for the younger, wild fennel greens I discover. Regulate as mandatory.
The aromatics
Alliums (I like Davidson and Nonna Fina’s shallots, however onion could be superb) give the dish an earthy sweetness, whereas dried vine fruits (I favour the diminutive currant) carry little pops of pure sugar; soak them earlier than use, in order that they’re juicy, reasonably than chewy – just like the crunchy, toasted pine nuts, they yield as a lot textural curiosity as flavour. Davidson and Hazan additionally use saffron, which supplies the dish a contact of glamour, however that is very a lot non-obligatory.
The sauce
Roddy deploys selfmade tomato sauce in her recipe, whereas Nonna Fina and Hazan each go for tomato puree, with the previous additionally including white wine and a pinch of sugar. Davidson and del Conte omit the tomato altogether, although, which can be my very own choice (in addition to, in line with a number of correspondents, the Palermo manner of doing issues), as a result of I feel it permits the sardines to shine, however in the event you’d favor a wetter dish, dissolve a few tablespoons of puree in just a little of the fennel cooking water and add it to the pan whereas cooking the sardines.
The pasta
That is one place the place I’d sanction the usage of bucatini, the lengthy, hole strands that I usually discover reasonably irritating to eat in saucier contexts. Del Conte mentions rigatoni or penne, Roddy provides casarecce to the checklist, and Nonna Fina, although a fan of bucatini – “the outlet operating by the center is ideal for catching the sauce” – permits that readers could decide whichever sort they like. No matter you select, cook dinner it in the identical water you used for the fennel tops – not solely is that this a great way to preserve each water and vitality, nevertheless it ties the entire dish collectively.
To bake, or to not bake
Del Conte and Davidson each end their pasta off within the oven, although the latter notes that “that is the apply at Trapani”, suggesting that in Palermo this stage could be omitted. I don’t take care of it myself: it dangers overcooking the fragile fish, and makes the dish as an entire reasonably dry and stodgy. As an alternative, I’d end it with a very good sprinkling of breadcrumbs – “a typical poor man’s substitute for grated parmesan”, as Genaro Contaldo places it – and maybe a lemon on the aspect, as Nonna Fina recommends, for individuals so as to add if desired. Buon appetito!
Good pasta con le sarde
Prep 10 min
Prepare dinner 45 min
Serves 2 (and simply doubled)
25g currants, raisins or sultanas
1 good pinch saffron (non-obligatory)
25g pine nuts
4 tbsp dry breadcrumbs
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus just a little additional to drizzle
Salt
½ tsp fennel seeds (non-obligatory)
250g recent sardines (about 6), cleaned and gutted
About 40g fennel tops (see introduction), roughly chopped
2 shallots, peeled and finely sliced
4 anchovies in oil, drained and roughly chopped
175g bucatini, spaghetti, rigatoni or casarecce
2 lemon wedges (non-obligatory)
Soak the fruit in heat water. In a separate dish, soak the saffron with a tablespoon of heat water. Toast the pine nuts in a dry pan and put aside, then toast the breadcrumbs in the identical pan with a very good sprint of olive oil and salt, till golden, and set these apart, too.
Grind the fennel seeds, if utilizing.
Take away the heads from the sardines, fastidiously pull out their backbones and tails (watch a video on-line in the event you’re undecided how to do that), then roughly chop the flesh.
Convey a big pan of salted water to a boil and add the fennel tops.
When you’re utilizing cultivated fennel, scoop out with a slotted spoon after 30 seconds, and drain; if utilizing wild, simmer for about 5 minutes earlier than scooping out. Cowl the pan to maintain the water heat for the pasta.
Warmth the oil in a frying pan over a medium warmth, and fry the shallots till smooth however not colored.
Add the anchovies, cook dinner, stirring, till they’ve melted into the shallots, then flip up the warmth barely and add the bottom fennel and sardine chunks.
Fry for a few minutes, then add the drained raisins, the saffron and its soaking water, and a spoonful of the fennel cooking water, and cook dinner for 5 minutes extra, including extra water if the combo turns into too dry.
In the meantime, carry the fennel water again to a boil, and cook dinner the pasta to your style.
Add the fennel tops to the frying pan, then toss by the drained pasta, pine nuts and breadcrumbs, preserving a couple of breadcrumbs again to sprinkle over the completed dish, and serve with a lemon wedge on the aspect, if desired.
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Pasta con le sarde: do you prefer it with or with out tomatoes, with bucatini or rigatoni – and the way else do you prefer to eat sardines whereas they’re in season?
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This text was edited on 7 Could 2022 to right the spelling of Euphemius’ identify in an earlier model.
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