Pasta con le Sarde Recipe (2024)

I make a very similar recipe - adapted from a delicious lunch I had in Palermo several years ago. I add a pinch of saffron early on and, instead of capers, I add golden raisins, which complement the fennel and sardines beautifully (and reflect the Arab influence present in many Sicilian dishes). This is an all time favorite!

Plenty for 2 medium eaters with 6 oz bucatini,100 gram tin wild caught sardines in olive oil (from Italy).Usual Sicilian pasta and fish recipe with thoughtful addition of fennel and seeds. Really good.

A family favorite, but no need for such an insane amount of olive oil, a quarter cup is fine to cook the veg in and a tbsp or two at the end.

"Bone, when used as a verb to mean remove bones and debone are interchangeable."

Added one more onion (sliced thin-round) and more garlic. Didn't have fresh fennel but had the fennel seeds. This came out quite delicious. The sardines added a great punch of flavor.

Add canned (in olive oil) sardines at the very end.

Could use half the breadcrumbs this called for and treat it just as a light garnish. It calls for a lot and makes the pasta a little glaggyCanned sardines for the win though.

Just delicious! I used 1 tin sardines for 1/2 recipe, golden raisins and less olive oil (including the oil from the tin). I cooked fennel, raisins and sardines in large sauté pan. Rather than drain bucatini, I used tongs to pull it out of cooking water and added it dripping to the sauté pan. The moisture from the pasta gave the sauce it a nice velvety texture. Can’t wait to make it again.

The recipe I’ve been using for years calls for anchovy paste, or anchovy fillets, which basically break down into paste in the sauce. The dish doesn’t taste like anchovies, but the extra umami is spectacular.

Did anyone else think "Add enough salt to the boiling water so that it tastes salty" was a problematic direction?

Didn’t have currents but cooked everything accordingly. Fantastic taste, wonderful recipe.

If using canned sardines, you may find that simmering for 10 minutes with the wine will cause them to fall apart. Next time I'd try adding them in for the last couple minutes, along with the capers, to release the flavor into the sauce but preserve texture.

So delicious! Used walnuts instead of pricey pine nuts, eye balled the olive oil. Don't forget, the canned sardines are packed in olive oil too so you can use that. I found that the fennel cooked faster than the recipe said, I might experiment with cutting the onion and fennel in thin strips rather than small dice to stick to the pasta better.

Really a delicious recipe. I love pasta con le sarde and this was authentic… made it for St. Joseph’s Day… (I am of Sicilian heritage) It tasted just like I had on the little island of Favignana, due west of Trapani in Sicily, overlooking the harbor. The only adjustment I made was that when I saw another reader used fennel pollen in lieu of fennel seeds, I made the same substitution, and it gave a delightful fennel depth. I also added more wine and raisins, because, why not!

A family favorite, but no need for such an insane amount of olive oil, a quarter cup is fine to cook the veg in and a tbsp or two at the end.

I make a very similar recipe - adapted from a delicious lunch I had in Palermo several years ago. I add a pinch of saffron early on and, instead of capers, I add golden raisins, which complement the fennel and sardines beautifully (and reflect the Arab influence present in many Sicilian dishes). This is an all time favorite!

Deboned or boned? Thought “boned” meant to go boneless.

I had some very precious fennel pollen, so I used that, rether than seeds. Fantastic.

Added more onion, in larger pieces, & garlic, sliced a bit thicker so it could be easily removed before serving - found the final sauce plus perfect & balanced the punch of the sardines. Delicious!

Plenty for 2 medium eaters with 6 oz bucatini,100 gram tin wild caught sardines in olive oil (from Italy).Usual Sicilian pasta and fish recipe with thoughtful addition of fennel and seeds. Really good.