Pasta con SardePasta with Sardines
In Angelo’s words
With the Lenten season soon to start, we are always looking for tasty recipes that will satisfy our appetites during this most holy fasting 40 days of Lent. Many Christians especially Catholics observe this most holy season and refrain from eating meat dishes during this period on Wednesdays and Fridays. Although the Church only requires us to observe this practice on Ash Wednesday and Friday’s, many Catholics refrain from eating meat on both Wednesday and Friday during lent. With that in mind I offer one of my families favorite recipe’s Pasta con Sarde.
When I was a kid, I remember my grandmother making this recipe from scratch. Sardines were not what I would call a favorite of mine or my siblings, but somehow this dish transformed them into a delectable gourmet delicacy.
Obtaining the ingredients was a simple task back then (the 40’s and 50’s), but modern marketing and the lack of vegetable gardening has made this task more difficult. The sardines are easy enough to get from the fish market, and in a pinch you can use canned sardines (preferably packed in olive oil), but the fennel greens are harder to get. The recipe calls for the greens or tops from the fennel bulbs. Most produce departments cut most of the tops from the fennel bulbs before placing them in the display case. If you plan ahead you might get the produce manager to save 1 or 2 pounds when trimming them.
If you want to try Pasta con Sarde and don’t want to go through the trouble of preparation, you can always buy the canned commercial one. It’s usually available in the ethnic or specialty section (Italian isle) and comes in 6 and 12 oz. cans (approximate). Due to the difficulty of obtaining the fennel tops we use the canned version and beef it up somewhat. I’ll cover both options, but from scratch is best. If you are not familiar with fresh fennel, the bulbs are sold with some greens intact. The consumer cuts the remaining tops from the bulb and then will wash and slice the bulbs lengthwise into sticks (like celery) for serving. Fennel has a mild licorice sweet taste and is also referred to as anise.
Recipe 1
Pasta con Sarde
(from scratch)
Ingredients
Note: Bucatini is the spaghetti with the hole through the center.
Method
- Variation: Easy Pasta con Sarde Recipe
Recipe 2
Easy Pasta con Sarde Recipe
Yield: (serves 4)
Optional Easy Method:
The easy way is to use the canned version usually sold in the ethnic or specialty section of your (International) Super Market. The commercial version. The brand we use is an import product of Italy. The commercial brands are kind of skimpy on the pine nuts and currants etc. So plan on beefing it up a little if you choose to go this way.
Ingredients
Method
- A variation of: Pasta con Sarde
Family notes
None yet. Notes from the family will appear here, signed and dated, and kept apart from Angelo’s words.
From the archive
Restored · 2012 capture- Originally published
- , 6:00 pm, on angelobiondo.com by Angelo Biondo (post No. 154)
- Filed under
- Fish Recipes, Pasta Recipes
- Restored from
- Internet Archive capture of — view the original page
- Also captured
- Original notice
- Copyright© February, 2009
- Transcription
Angelo’s words are unchanged, spelling included.
- The first heading was printed “Pasta con Sarde (from scratch)”; “(from scratch)” is shown as its qualifier.
- “(serves 4)” was printed under the easy recipe’s heading; it is shown as the yield.
- A line break in the middle of a sentence (“an import product / of Italy”) is joined.
- The dashes that began each direction were list markers; the directions are shown as numbered steps.
- The byline “By: Angelo Biondo” is not repeated.
- Open questions
Left exactly as published, for the family to confirm.
- From scratch: “2 lbs. whole fresh sardines (sardines packed in olive oil)” reads as two options, fresh or canned; the introduction says canned will do “in a pinch”.
- Not carried over
- The site’s rights notice under the copyright line, which included a link to the site’s home page.