We love it when recipe titles are able to condense the sense of humor of a culture, especially a poor culture like many in the past, where providing food was the main activity for all people.
The Poorest Roots of Sicilian Taste
The literal translation of “Pasta with sardines in the ocean” is the humble version of Sardine Pasta, one of the most popular Sicilian dishes. Even when just sardines were a luxury, farmers would make the same sauce but without the fish. It’s a light and super tasty first course that we particularly love. The essential ingredient is wild fennel, which grows spontaneously here in Sicily from January to March/April. It represents the rebirth of the good season and has a fresh taste (similar but not the same as dill) that makes it one of our favorite recipes to serve to guests who visit our Farm to Table at that time of the year. But if you can’t you can just subscribe to our newsletter where we often organize cooking class online with this recipe.
Do you want to cook alone? Here the recipe.
Ingredients 4 people
400 g of bucatini
700 g wild fennel
1 onion
1 tablespoon pine nuts
1 tablespoon of raisins
1 table spoon tomato concentrate
100 g tomato paste
extra virgin olive oil
salt, pepper
toasted breadcrumbs to taste
Procedure
Boil the fennel in salted water until tender. Drain and chop finely. Reserve the fennel cooking water — you’ll use it to cook the pasta and enrich the sauce.
In a cold saucepan, combine the olive oil, chopped onion, pine nuts, and raisins. Turn on the heat and gently cook until the onion is soft and golden, allowing the flavors to slowly build.
Add a splash of white wine to deglaze the pan. Let it evaporate, then add the tomato paste along with a small ladle of fennel cooking water to loosen and blend the concentrate into the mix.
Add the chopped fennel and let everything simmer gently for about 5 minutes, just enough for the flavors to come together while keeping the fennel vibrant.
Cook the pasta in the fennel water (add more if necessary). Drain al dente.
Toss the pasta with the sauce, coating it well with the sweet, nutty, and aromatic notes.
Serve hot, sprinkled with golden toasted breadcrumbs and, if desired, a pinch of grated cheese — grandma’s touch of umami.