Sardines belong to the family of the blue fish, a very tasty and rich type of fish Omega 3 fatty acidsunsaturated ones, easier to digest and therefore lighter. Furthermore, unsaturated fats are very important for health because regulate cholesterol levels and have an elasticizing effect on the arteries, protecting the cardiovascular system from important diseases. This reason was not enough to bring this food to the table more often, it must be said that sardines are extremely tasty, and which are among the fish less expensive present on the market.

The origins of Palermo-style pasta

With sardines you can cook, for example, the Palermo-style pasta. It is said that this recipe was invented by a Arab cook in the service of General Eufemio da Messina who, during the Arab campaign in Sicily, having to feed the troops and having few resources, he managed to create a tasty dish combining fish with other products of the earth, like pine nuts and wild fennel. A sort of "sea and mountains" ante litteram! The success was immediate and since then it has never stopped cooking this dish which, as with any family recipe, has various versions, depending on the area in which it is prepared.

Recipe

First of all clean the sardines, you will need 500 g: remove the head, open them like a book on the belly, spin them, flour them in half and fry them in abundant extra virgin olive oil. In a saucepan, sauté a clove of garlic in a little oil, add a few sprigs of parsley, the other sardines and cook for 10 minutes, adding half a glass of water. Add one envelope of saffron dissolved in a little water, mix well, season with salt, pepper and set aside. Boil for ten minutes in abundant salted water wild fennel leaves, drain, mince, put them in a pan with extra virgin olive oil and a finely chopped onion. Add a handful of sultanas soaked and squeezed, three tablespoons of pine nuts and cook for 15 minutes. Add the previously cooked sardines to this sauce and mix well. Boil in the same water that you used for the fennel 500 g of spaghetti or bucatini, drain them al dente and season with the sauce of sardines. Garnish each dish with some fried sardines and bring the pasta to Palermo to the table.

Discover in the tutorial the secrets for a perfect Palermitan pasta!

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