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Pasta con le Sarde

Sicily · No.35 / 103

Pasta con le Sarde

Pasta con le Sarde, 3 ways

A Sicilian seafood pasta combining fresh sardines, fennel, raisins, pine nuts and saffron. Toasted breadcrumbs on top stand in for cheese as the "poor man's cheese." The forks are whether saffron and white wine are used, and whether the fennel's cooking water is used directly as the pasta water.

Vincenzo's Plate Pasta Grammar Serious Eats (Daniel Gritzer)
35 min · Difficulty ●●●○○ · 2videos

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Vincenzo's PlateItalian-born, Sydney-based YouTube channel Source verified

Colored with tomato paste; breadcrumbs toasted separately and finished on top

  • Toasts the breadcrumbs entirely separately from the sauce, sprinkling them on only at the very end -- a two-layer construction
  • Steeps the saffron in water a full day ahead as an advance-prep step
  • Adds tomato paste for color and savoriness -- a move not seen in the other schools
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In the chef’s words
  • Add saffron threads to a glass, then fill it with hot water and let it rest. For the best results, do this the day before. source
  • Add the anchovies, stirring well until they melt and disappear. source

References: [1]

Pasta GrammarA husband-and-wife channel: Eva, from Calabria, Italy, and Harper, from the US Source verified

No wine, no tomato -- a stripped-down version; pasta is finished right in the sauce

  • Presents 'Pasta con le Sarde a Mare,' a sardine-free variant, and spells out its changes (saffron added directly without dissolving in water, 4 anchovy fillets, 15g tomato paste and 120ml white wine added)
  • Pulls the pasta early and finishes cooking it directly in the sauce
  • Adds the pine nuts raw, cooking them in the sauce rather than toasting them first (unlike the other schools)
  • A stripped-down construction that uses no garlic, tomato, or wine
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In the chef’s words
  • The name of this alternate recipe means something along the lines of "pasta with sardines still in the sea." It uses the same basic technique and ingredients as the original (with a few small but important tweaks) but omits the sardines entirely. source
  • Cook as directed, but for 2 to 3 minutes less than the recommended "al dente" cook time. source

References: [1]

Source is a recipe page (no video)
Serious Eats (Daniel Gritzer)US food media outlet; recipe by Editorial Director Daniel Gritzer Source verified

White wine warms the raisins and saffron; fennel seed goes into the breadcrumbs too

  • Warms the raisins and saffron in white wine to draw out their flavor -- the only one of the three schools to use wine
  • Adds ground fennel seed into the toasted breadcrumbs, a double use of fennel
  • Garnishes the finished dish with whole, unchopped fennel fronds
  • Frames the recipe explicitly around its 'heavy Arab influence'
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In the chef’s words
  • Heavily influenced by the Arabs that ruled Sicily more than a thousand years ago, pasta con le sarde (pasta with sardines) features long bucatini or spaghetti in a slick, luscious sauce made from onions, fennel, raisins, pine nuts, anchovies, sardines, and saffron source
  • If at any point the pasta becomes too dry, add additional pasta cooking water in 1/4-cup increments, and toss to loosen and moisten source

References: [1]

Compared on 9 axes

Figures are transcribed as written in each video or recipe page

AXIS Vincenzo's Plate Pasta Grammar Serious Eats (Daniel Gritzer)
Pasta, portion, cooking Spaghetti, 300gBucatini, 200g, serves 2; pulled 2-3 minutes early and finished in the panBucatini or spaghetti, 450g, serves 4
Salt in the pasta water 1 tbsp rock salt in the fennel cooking waterFennel water salted well (no exact amount given)A large pot of water salted well (no exact amount given)
Sardine prep and cooking 200g fresh sardines, cooked in the sauce under 2 minutes12 fresh sardines, hand-butterflied, cooked in the sauce for 2 minutes5 fresh sardines (about 3/4 lb, 340g), filleted and cut into 1-inch pieces, cooked about 2 minutes at the end
Anchovy handling 5 anchovies melted into the oil until they disappear2 fillets melted into red onion over medium-low4 oil-packed fillets cooked with the onion and fennel for 8 minutes to dissolve
Onion/fennel bulb base 1/2 red onion + 2 crushed cloves garlic + 1 tbsp tomato paste1/4 red onion + anchovies, no garlic1 cup minced onion + 1 cup fennel bulb in 45ml EVOO for 8 minutes
Raisins and pine nuts 30g sultanas, 30g pine nuts (toasted separately with no oil)40g raisins (plumped in water), 30g pine nuts (added raw, cooked in the sauce)45g raisins (steeped in white wine), 35g pine nuts (pre-toasted)
Saffron Steeped in water since the day before, added in two batchesA pinch dissolved in 30ml water and addedA small amount (optional), dissolved in the white wine and added
White wine NoneNone120ml dry white wine used to warm and flavor the raisins and saffron
Finishing breadcrumbs 5 tbsp breadcrumbs toasted in 2 tbsp EVOO, generously sprinkled at the end65g breadcrumbs toasted in 30ml olive oil, generously spooned on at the end35g breadcrumbs lightly toasted in 22ml EVOO with 1/2 tsp ground fennel seed, added at the end
Source check Source verifiedSource verifiedSource verified
Vincenzo's Plate Colored with tomato paste; breadcrumbs toasted separately and finished on top
Pasta, portion, cooking
Spaghetti, 300g
Salt in the pasta water
1 tbsp rock salt in the fennel cooking water
Sardine prep and cooking
200g fresh sardines, cooked in the sauce under 2 minutes
Anchovy handling
5 anchovies melted into the oil until they disappear
Onion/fennel bulb base
1/2 red onion + 2 crushed cloves garlic + 1 tbsp tomato paste
Raisins and pine nuts
30g sultanas, 30g pine nuts (toasted separately with no oil)
Saffron
Steeped in water since the day before, added in two batches
White wine
None
Finishing breadcrumbs
5 tbsp breadcrumbs toasted in 2 tbsp EVOO, generously sprinkled at the end
Source
Source verified
Pasta Grammar No wine, no tomato -- a stripped-down version; pasta is finished right in the sauce
Pasta, portion, cooking
Bucatini, 200g, serves 2; pulled 2-3 minutes early and finished in the pan
Salt in the pasta water
Fennel water salted well (no exact amount given)
Sardine prep and cooking
12 fresh sardines, hand-butterflied, cooked in the sauce for 2 minutes
Anchovy handling
2 fillets melted into red onion over medium-low
Onion/fennel bulb base
1/4 red onion + anchovies, no garlic
Raisins and pine nuts
40g raisins (plumped in water), 30g pine nuts (added raw, cooked in the sauce)
Saffron
A pinch dissolved in 30ml water and added
White wine
None
Finishing breadcrumbs
65g breadcrumbs toasted in 30ml olive oil, generously spooned on at the end
Source
Source verified
Serious Eats (Daniel Gritzer) White wine warms the raisins and saffron; fennel seed goes into the breadcrumbs too
Pasta, portion, cooking
Bucatini or spaghetti, 450g, serves 4
Salt in the pasta water
A large pot of water salted well (no exact amount given)
Sardine prep and cooking
5 fresh sardines (about 3/4 lb, 340g), filleted and cut into 1-inch pieces, cooked about 2 minutes at the end
Anchovy handling
4 oil-packed fillets cooked with the onion and fennel for 8 minutes to dissolve
Onion/fennel bulb base
1 cup minced onion + 1 cup fennel bulb in 45ml EVOO for 8 minutes
Raisins and pine nuts
45g raisins (steeped in white wine), 35g pine nuts (pre-toasted)
Saffron
A small amount (optional), dissolved in the white wine and added
White wine
120ml dry white wine used to warm and flavor the raisins and saffron
Finishing breadcrumbs
35g breadcrumbs lightly toasted in 22ml EVOO with 1/2 tsp ground fennel seed, added at the end
Source
Source verified

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1 Pasta & boiling Brand, thickness, salt, water volume, cooking time
2 Base Fat and the main ingredient: rendering, infusing
3 Sauce & emulsion Where you toss, heat level, how much pasta water
4 Finish Cheese, pepper, finishing oil, plating

The map of schools: where the heat is managed

For Pasta con le Sarde, the fork in the road is how you emulsify and heat

Toss over direct heat

The pan stays on the flame and your hands manage the temperature. Fast, but it takes feel.

Indirect heat

Bain-marie, steam, double boiler or a hand blender. Repeatable, at the cost of one extra step.

  • No styles here

Off the heat

Emulsify after killing the flame, or in a bowl with only the pasta’s residual heat. Hard to get wrong.

  • No styles here

What to serve after this

In an Italian meal the primo (pasta) is followed by a secondo (main course)

Sicily 60 min

Caponata siciliana

Caponata siciliana

A Sicilian dish of fried eggplant simmered in a sweet-and-sour agrodolce sauce with celery, onion, olives and capers. Today it is served as a contorno or antipasto, and it is registered as a traditional agri-food product (P.A.T.) of the Sicily region.

Pairs with: Pasta alla Norma / Pasta con le Sarde / Pesto alla trapanese

Also from Palermo. The pine nuts and raisins in the agrodolce of pasta con le sarde echo the technique of caponata's own sweet-and-sour sauce.

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