Friday night Sicilian Supper

Spaghetti alle sarde

When eating a dish of Spaghetti with sardines the way Sicilians make it,  you can taste all the flavours of the different cultures that have passed through their land over the centuries.  Together with the sardines caught in the Sicilian sea  there are the almonds from the trees that grow  so profusely on their hillsides producing splendid blossoms as early as January.  Gently mingling with these local ingredients there are the exotic perfumes of saffron, a sort of dill, pine nuts and sultanas. I hope the Sicilians will forgive me for my store cupboard version but it got the thumbs up this evening. My sardines weren't freshly caught from the sea but from a tin, a special one though, from a shop that sells only tinned sardines.

Serves 4

300g spaghetti

40g pinoli

1 tin of sardines

40g sultanas, washed, soaked for an hour and drained.

1 finely sliced white onion( optional)

1 sachet of saffron dissolved in a hot water

2 anchovy fillets

Dill

30g toasted breadcrumbs- gently fry fine breadcrumbs in some oil in a non stick pan until slightly golden.

Bring to the boil a large saucepan of water for the spaghetti.

Gently cook the onion if using and the anchovy fillets in a small amount of olive oil in a small saucepan. 

Add the pine nuts and stir.

Add the sardines and sultanas and stir.

Sprinkle over the saffron and mix gently.

Cook the spaghetti, then drain and return to the saucepan and add  some olive oil then the sauce. Mix gently.

Serve with the toasted breadcrumbs in a separate dish.

Once a week it's good for your mood to eat omega rich fish like anchovies, sardines, clams etc.

Store cupboard ingredients quickly assembled

A shop that sells only tinned sardines