Mauro’s Palermitano Sardine Pasta
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 pinch saffron
1 pinch black pepper
1 ½ teaspoons tomato paste
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1 box buccatini pasta
2 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
3 fresh sardines, deboned and cleaned and chopped into large pieces
3 fresh, salted anchovies, deboned and cleaned to create 6 fillets (or 6 canned filets)
1/3 cup golden raisins
3 bulbs wild fennel
1 cup plain bread crumbs
3 green onions, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
1 oz pine nuts
Chop onion, keep only white and light green parts. Remove fennel stems from bulbs.
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Once boiling, take out a spoonful of water and add to a small bowl with the raisins and set aside. Add fennel stems and a tablespoon of salt to the boiling water. Reduce heat to low, cover and let simmer.
In the meantime, heat a small drizzle (about 1 ½ tablespoons) of oil in a frying pan over medium. Add in 1 anchovy fillet and smash while frying. Then add in breadcrumbs. Stir to coat in oil and mix continuously until crumbs are a golden brown and all the oil has been absorbed. Remove from pan and set aside.
In the same frying pan, heat a large drizzle of olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add in onion and shallot and cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Then add in the other 5 anchovy fillets and mix with onions. Then drain raisins and add to the pan.
From the pot with the fennel stems, remove ¾ cup of the cooking water and add to the frying pan along with the pine nuts.
Add another ½ cup of the fennel water to a small bowl with the saffron and mix with a fork until dissolved. Pour ¾ into the frying pan and the rest back into the pot with the fennel. Add fresh pepper, red pepper flakes, and tomato paste to the frying pan.
Remove the fennel stems from the pot of boiling water with a slotted spoon. Roughly chop into smaller pieces. Keep the fennel water covered and on low heat, it will be used to cook the pasta.
Add sardine chunks and fennel stems to the frying pan and stir to cook. Add in another ½ cup of the fennel water. Turn down heat to low.
Add buccatini pasta to the fennel water and cook until al dente. When finished, drain and add the noodles to the frying pan with the fish sauce and mix until coated. Add parmesan cheese and a spoonful of the toasted breadcrumbs and mix.
Serve topped with additional breadcrumbs.
Put any leftovers in an ovenproof pan and reheat uncovered the next day, putting additional breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese over the noodles, in the oven at 350º F for 20min.