Pasta con le Sarde

Name: Pasta con le Sarde
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 55 min
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 360 g Bucatini; 12 Fresh sardine, cleaned, boned, filleted; 1 bunch Wild fennel, trimmed; 30 g Pine nut; 40 g Raisin; 1 pinch Saffron, threads; 3 tbsp Olive oil; 1 ½ tsp Salt; ½ tsp Black pepper, freshly ground

Pasta con le Sarde · ready in 55 min · 4 servings · 741 kcal per serving · medium · 9 ingredients

A Palermo classic where fresh sardines meet wild fennel, saffron, pine nuts, and raisins in a fragrant sauce with clear Arab influenced roots.

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 35 min
Total: 55 min
Serves: 4
kcal: 741
Difficulty: medium

Italian Main dishes Dairy-free High-protein (25 g+)

A QiMeal recipe · Updated 3 October 2026

Ingredients · 4 servings

360 gBucatini
12Fresh sardine, cleaned, boned, filleted
1 bunchWild fennel, trimmed
30 gPine nut
40 gRaisin
1 pinchSaffron, threads
3 tbspOlive oil
1 ½ tspSalt
½ tspBlack pepper, freshly ground

Equipment

stovetop, large pot, skillet, colander, tongs, ladle, knife, cutting board, small bowl, serving bowl, wooden spoon, fish spatula

Instructions

Gather Ingredients
Gather all ingredients, a scale, large pot, skillet, colander, tongs, ladle, knife, cutting board, small bowl, and serving bowl before cooking. · 5 min
What to look for: Everything is measured and within reach.
Prepare Fennel
Boil the wild fennel in salted water until tender, then lift it out and keep the green cooking water for the pasta. · 10 min
What to look for: The fennel is soft and the water is pale green.
Chop Fennel
Chop the tender fennel finely and dissolve the saffron in 60 ml of the hot fennel water in a small bowl. · 5 min
What to look for: The saffron water turns golden and fragrant.
Toast Nuts
Warm 15 g olive oil in the skillet, add the pine nuts and raisins, cook until pale gold, then transfer them to a bowl. · 3 min
What to look for: The pine nuts are lightly golden and the raisins look plump.
Cook Sardines
Add 25 g olive oil and the sardine fillets to the skillet, then fry gently until the fish turns opaque and flakes into large pieces. · 5 min
When it is done: Sardine flesh should flake easily and look opaque at the thickest part.
Build Sauce
Fold in the chopped fennel, saffron water, pine nuts, and raisins, then simmer until the sauce smells sweet, marine, and grassy. · 4 min
What to look for: The sauce is moist and golden with visible sardine pieces.
Boil Bucatini
Boil the bucatini in the fennel water until barely al dente, stirring often so the hollow strands do not stick. · 10 min
What to look for: The bucatini bends but still has a firm center.
Finish Pasta
Transfer the drained bucatini to the skillet and toss with the sauce, loosening with a ladle of fennel water if needed. · 2 min
What to look for: The strands are glossy and evenly coated with fennel and sardine sauce.
Season Pasta
Taste the pasta, then season with salt and black pepper until the sardine sauce tastes balanced and lightly briny. · 1 min
What to look for: The sauce clings lightly without pooling in the pan.
Serve Immediately
Serve the Pasta con le Sarde hot in a warm bowl, keeping the sardine pieces visible among the fennel, raisins, and pine nuts. · 1 min
What to look for: The finished pasta looks glossy, golden, and generously studded.

Nutrition (per serving)

kcal	741
Protein	39 g
Carbohydrates	79 g
of which sugars	9 g
Fat	30 g
of which saturated	5 g
Fibre	4 g
Sodium	880 mg

Nutri-ScoreB

Allergens

Contains: gluten, fish, tree nuts

Storage and reheating

Fridge: up to 2 days
Freezer: not recommended
Warm gently in a covered skillet with a splash of water until steaming throughout, taking care not to break the sardines further.

Ingredient substitutions

Olive oil

Butter: Butter is allowed but less traditional and will soften the briny finish.