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Sicilian · Italian

Pasta con le Sarde

Palermitan pasta with sardines and wild fennel

Sicilian bucatini with fresh sardines, wild fennel, raisins and pine nuts in a fragrant sweet-savoury sauce.

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Prep25 minsCook30 minsServes4DifficultyMedium
Pasta con le Sarde served in a rustic Mediterranean setting

Bright, satisfying and built for real life.

This recipe brings together the generous flavours of Sicilian and Italian cooking in a format that works on a busy day. Read through the method before starting and adjust seasoning to your taste.

Ingredient notes & swaps

  • Use fresh dill plus fennel fronds if wild fennel is unavailable.
  • Use spaghetti if bucatini is unavailable.

The recipe

Pasta con le Sarde

25 min prep30 min cook55 min total4 servings
Scale:

Ingredients

Sauce

Pasta

To finish

Method

  1. 1

    Boil the fennel until tender, lift it out and chop; reserve the green cooking water.

    Set a timer: 10 minutes
  2. 2

    Soften the onion in oil, dissolve in the anchovies, then add fennel, raisins, pine nuts and saffron.

    Set a timer: 8 minutes
  3. 3

    Fold in the sardines and cook gently until just opaque, keeping some pieces intact.

    Set a timer: 5 minutes
  4. 4

    Boil the bucatini in the fennel water until al dente, then toss with the sauce and a little cooking water.

    Set a timer: 12 minutes
  5. 5

    Rest for two minutes and finish with toasted breadcrumbs.

    Set a timer: 2 minutes

Pasta con le sarde is a Palermitan classic built around fresh sardines and wild fennel. Raisins, pine nuts, saffron and toasted breadcrumbs give the dish its distinctive Sicilian sweet-savoury character.

Storage

Refrigerate for up to 1 day in a sealed container.

Freezing

Not recommended.

Reheating

Reheat gently with a splash of water until piping hot.

Keep cooking

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