Nonna Liliana Barone’s Bucatini with Sardines

Name: Nonna Liliana Barone’s Bucatini with Sardines (Bucatini con le Sarde)
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 2 pounds (907 g) fresh sardines; ¼ cup (38 g) currants; 1 cup (240 ml) warm water; 6 tablespoons (90 ml) extra-virgin olive oil, divided; ½ cup (55 g) plain bread crumbs; ¼ cup (22 g) fennel stems, cut into ¼-inch (6 mm) dice; 5 ounces (140 g) fresh wild fennel fronds or regular fennel if you cannot find wild fennel; 5 ounces (140 g) fresh wild fennel fronds or regular fennel if you cannot find wild fennel; 5 ounces (140 g) fresh wild fennel fronds or regular fennel if you cannot find wild fennel; 1 large onion, cut into ¼-inch (6 mm) dice; ¼ cup (34 g) pinoli (pine nuts); ¼ cup (34 g) pinoli (pine nuts); 1 tablespoon (16 g) tomato concentrate or tomato paste; 1 tablespoon (16 g) tomato concentrate or tomato paste; 0.016 ounce (0.5 g) saffron threads (about 2 packets), divided; ¼ cup (37 g) sardines or anchovies packed in salt (about 4 fish); ¼ cup (37 g) sardines or anchovies packed in salt (about 4 fish); ¼ cup (37 g) sardines or anchovies packed in salt (about 4 fish); ¼ cup (37 g) sardines or anchovies packed in salt (about 4 fish); 16 ounces (454 g) dry bucatini pasta

Bucatini con le Sarde

Preparation info

Yield:
4 to 6
servings

Difficulty
Easy
Ready in
1 hr 10

Appears in

Cooking with Nonna

By Rossella Rago

Published 2018

About

Nothing will spark a heated Sicilian conversation like the question “How do you make your pasta con sarde?” Every family has their own recipe, which they hold dear to their hearts, but Nonna Liliana stole mine with her incredible recipe for this iconic Saint Joseph’s Day pasta dish. The typical preparation involves a combination of wild fennel, or finocchietto selvatico as Nonna Liliana calls it; fresh sardines, which have to be cleaned and de

Ingredients

Europe
Italy
Sicily
Pasta
Fish course
Pescatarian
March
Feast of Saint Joseph

Ingredients

Method