Spaghetti Con Le Sarde Recipes

PASTA CON SARDE (PASTA WITH SARDINES)

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti, and cook until al dente, or 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, and rinse under cold water. Toss with 1/4 cup olive oil, cover and keep warm.
• Place another 1/4 cup olive oil in a skillet, and heat over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, and cook just until golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the sardines, and cook 1 minute more. Stir in the bread crumbs and 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese. If necessary to give the mixture a crumbly texture, stir in the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil. Stir in the parsley and pepper, and remove from the heat. If desired, serve with additional Parmesan cheese.

PASTA CON LE SARDE

Steps:

• Soak raisins in a bowl of lukewarm water for 20 minutes. In a large pot of boiling, salted water blanch fennel tops, 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, pat dry and chop. Return water to boiling and add pasta. Meanwhile, in a saucepan heat oil over medium heat, add sardines and saute 2 to 3 minutes, mashing with a fork. Season with salt and pepper. Add vinegar and let it evaporate, about 2 minutes. Drain raisins, pat dry and add along with fennel and pine nuts. Cook sauce 1 minute more. When pasta is tender, drain and transfer to a large warmed serving dish. Pour sauce over and toss very well. Serve immediately.;

SPAGHETTI CON LE SARDE

Steps:

• If using fresh sardines, scrape off any scales with a blunt knife; cut off fins. Cut off head and tail of each fish and slit open down the stomach. Pull out backbone and gut; open up fish and cut two fillets apart. Rinse well under cold running water to remove any blood; pat dry. Coarsely chop fresh or canned sardines.
• Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add 3 tablespoons salt; return to a boil.
• Meanwhile, heat 1/4 cup oil in another large pot over medium heat. Add fennel seeds and cook, stirring, until fragrant and lightly toasted, about 1 minute. Add chopped fennel and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add sardines and cook, stirring occasionally, until just opaque, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Add pasta to boiling water and cook, according to package directions, until just al dente. Drain, reserving about 1/2 cup pasta water.
• Add the pasta and 1/4 cup reserved pasta water to the sardine mixture; stir and toss over medium heat until pasta is well coated, adding a splash or two more of reserved pasta water, if necessary, to loosen the sauce. Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil; stir in half of the fennel fronds, half of the fennel pollen, if using, half of the orange zest, and half of the breadcrumbs.
• Transfer pasta to a large serving bowl and top with remaining fennel fronds, pollen, zest, and breadcrumbs; serve immediately.

PASTA CON LE SARDE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Combine the currants, red-pepper flakes and wine in a bowl; set aside. In a small sauté pan, melt the butter. Add the bread crumbs and cook, stirring, until golden brown. Transfer to a bowl, stir in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and set aside.
• In a heavy skillet, heat 1/2 cup olive oil over medium-low heat. When hot, add the onion, garlic, fennel bulb and fennel seeds. Season with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the fennel is tender, about 25 minutes.
• Add the wine mixture and the sardines, breaking them into pieces with a fork. Bring to a boil and gently simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add enough salt to the boiling water so that it tastes salty. Boil the bucatini until al dente, 6 to 8 minutes; strain. Return the pasta to the pasta pot and set over low heat. Fold in the fennel-sardine mixture. Toss in the remaining 4 tablespoons olive oil. Add 3/4 of the fennel fronds, the pine nuts, the capers and a quarter of the bread crumbs. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Divide pasta among plates and sprinkle the remaining bread crumbs and fennel fronds over each. Serve immediately.

CHEF JOHN'S PASTA CON LE SARDE

Steps:

• Cook and stir bread crumbs with 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium heat until bread crumbs are crispy and toasted, 2 to 5 minutes. Transfer breadcrumbs to a bowl to cool.
• Grind saffron threads with a mortar and pestle; pour white wine into mortar and stir to combine.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook bucatini in boiling water, stirring occasionally until almost cooked through but firm to the bite, 10 to 11 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta water.
• Heat remaining olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir onion and fennel with a pinch of salt in hot oil until onion is soft, about 10 minutes.
• Stir raisins, garlic, and anchovy fillet into onion mixture; cook and stir until heated through, about 1 minute.
• Pour saffron-wine into skillet; cook until wine is almost evaporated, about 2 minutes. Pour 1 ladleful reserved pasta water into skillet and bring to a simmer. Stir pine nuts and red pepper flakes into sauce; simmer until flavors combine and sauce is reduced, about 5 minutes.
• Stir bucatini and sardines into wine mixture; increase heat to high, and cook, stirring frequently and adding more reserved pasta water as necessary, until sauce and pasta are heated through, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Ladle into bowls and top with fennel fronds and toasted bread crumbs.