Pasta with sardines

Difficulty: Medium

Prep time:  15 mins

Cooking time: 35 mins

Serving: 4 people

Ingredients:

• Bucatini pasta 320 g
• Sardines 500 g
• Fennel 180 g
• Onions 80 g
• Raisins 30 g
• Pine nuts 25 g
• Chopped almonds 30 g
• Salted anchovies 5
• NOVELLO Bonolio EVOO  50 gr
• Water  70 gr – for diluting
• Saffron 1 packet – powdered
• Fine salt to taste
• Black pepper to taste

Method:

To prepare the pasta with sardines start by cleaning the sardine if not already cleaned. Cleaning them is very simple, just detach the head and pull them open by sliding your finger between the two parts, so you can gently detach the central bone. During this operation use a trickle of running water to eliminate the waste and clean the sardines at the same time. Keep the clean sardines on a plate. Soak the raisins for about ten minutes. Slice the onion as finely as possible (you can chop it in a mixer for a few moments on the pulse to avoid obtaining a mush) and pour it into a pan with the olive oil and anchovies. Cook for about ten minutes over low heat and stir frequently, so that the base lightly fries without burning and the anchovies dissolve.

In the meantime, dilute the saffron in the water stirring with a fork, and then pour it into the pan and add the clean sardines

Then drain and rinse the raisins and pour them into the pan, add the finely ground almonds and whole pine nuts, stir and continue cooking over a low flame for another 10 minutes

Put a pot on the stove with plenty of water to boil and then add the fennel. Then rinse the tender part and blanch for a couple of minutes. Drain well, without throwing away the water, letting the fennel cool for a few moments so you can handle it.

Squeeze it well and chop it with a knife, cutting one cut from the other an inch or so (a couple of centimeters) apart. Then put it in a pan, add salt and pepper, and stir to mix well.

Boil the pasta in the same water that you cooked the fennel in. In the meantime, toast the breadcrumbs and pour them into a pan with 10 g of oil. Mix often to keep from burning and when they are golden brown, turn off the heat. At this point, the pasta should be cooked al dente, drained, and then sauteed briefly in the pan. Place and garnish with the breading and a few drops of Novello Bonolio: your pasta with sardines is ready, enjoy your meal!