Fall has arrived in the northern hemisphere. But, as the riders pushed down the Mediterranean coast, and we were provided glimpses of coastal towns and shockingly vibrant surf, I had to bring the sea to me. The brodo in this dish absolutely tickles the senses. You are immediately transported oceanside to a lovely restaurant (remember those?) that overlooks whitecaps as the sun warms your skin just before tucking below the horizon. Paired with the salty pasta and aromatic, yet delicate, sardine and a sicilian wine, it feels like a summer night seaside kiss.
When I struck out at my normal national-chain grocer, I was surprised to find some larger sardines from my local fish purveyor. They also had squid! Many times these small, independent shops have some specialty items stocked away in their freezers, not readily apparent in their display cases or price boards. It always helps to ask what treats they may have around.
Alternatively, larger grocery chains have access to national suppliers and can obtain lesser-known or less popular items as well, but it may take some time for them to arrive. Perhaps, if we all band together and get out of our coking-comfort zone, we can get grocery stores to think outside of the box and provide more interesting items so we can diversify our home dinners. Note that with these more exotic items, they’ll probably come frozen, and maybe even whole. I had to scale, gut, and filet my sardines. The sardine skin is very delicate and I could actually scale the fish with my hands under running water. It was an interesting process that was made easier with the help of this video.
Bucatini with Sardines and Fennel
Try to find a quality pasta company, I used Rustichella d’Abruzzo which you can find at Balducci’s. The Bucatini is great because the long, tubular pasta encapsulates the sauce packing flavor into every bite.
Fennel stalks and fronds from 2 bulbs
Golden raisins
Saffron
Onion, roughly chopped
Bucatini
Extra-virgin olive oil
⅓ cup pine nuts
3-4 large anchovies, approx 1 lb in total, before cleaning and fileting
1 tbsp anchovy paste
Lemon
Bring 3 quarts of salted water to a boil in a stock pot. Add the fennel stalks and cover the pot. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, then remove the cooked stalks and place them in ice water to stop cooking. Cover the pot of fennel water and keep on medium heat. Meanwhile, place 3 handfuls of raisins in a medium bowl and cover with warm water; also place 2 heavy pinches of saffron threads in a small bowl and cover with about ¼ cup warm water to bloom. In a large saucepan, cover the onion with about 4 cups of water and bring to a boil, cover and lower the heat and cook for 10 minutes. While the onion cooks, lightly squeeze the cooled fennel and give them a ½ inch dice and reserve.
After 10 minutes of the onion cooking, add in 3 tbsp of evoo, the saffron threads and its water, pine nuts, the drained raisins, and anchovy paste . Give everything a good stir and bring to a simmer. Continue to cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then slip in the sardine filets along with the reserved chopped fennel. Cover the pan and reduce the heat to low to gently cook the fish, for about 5 minutes, turning the filets once during the cooking.
Meanwhile, return the large pot of water back to a boil, add in another tablespoon of salt and stir in the pasta, cooking for about 12 minutes. Drain the pasta and add it to the pot with the fish and finish cooking in the sauce. Plate and garnish with freshly cracked black pepper, evoo, and a slice of lemon.
Copyright 2020, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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