Pasta con le sarde
Sicily's famous pasta with sardines, wild fennel, sweet raisins and toasted pine nuts. Salty, sweet and deeply savoury.
- Time45 min
- LevelMedium
- Costabout £1.68 a head
Cost is worked out from Aldi and Tesco shelf prices in October 2026. Your shop and brands will differ.
Ingredients
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Method
- 1
Boil the fennel bulb pieces in a big pan of salted water for 8 minutes, until soft. Lift them out with a slotted spoon and keep the water for the pasta.
8 min - 2
Soak the saffron in 2 tablespoons of the hot water. Toast the pine nuts in a dry pan for 2 minutes until golden, then tip out.
2 min - 3
Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a large pan. Cook the onion and fennel seeds for 8 minutes until soft and sweet. Add the anchovies and stir until they melt into the oil.
8 min - 4
Add the boiled fennel, raisins, saffron water and sardines. Cook gently for 6 minutes, breaking the fish up, until the sauce smells of aniseed and the sea.
6 min - 5
Cook the spaghetti in the fennel water for 9 minutes until al dente. Keep a mug of the water, then drain.
9 min - 6
Toss the pasta through the sauce with a splash of cooking water and the pine nuts. Fry the breadcrumbs in the last spoon of oil until crisp and scatter over with the parsley.
Double check before you cook. Recipes can contain mistakes. Any diet labels come from the ingredients as written in this recipe and are a guide, not a guarantee. Always check every ingredient and the packet label for allergens and cross contamination, and ask your doctor or dietitian what is right for you, especially with coeliac disease, diabetes or a serious allergy. This is not medical advice.