PASTA WITH SARDINES

Ingredients INGREDIENTS FOR THE PASTA
· Spaghettoni: 400 g
· Sardines: 300 g
· Fresh spring onion: 100 g
· Red garlic: to taste
· Raisins: 25 g
· Pine nuts: 20 g
· Anchovies in oil: 6 fillets
· Dried chilli: to taste
· Organic Cavallino extra virgin olive oil: 5g
· Salt up: to taste
FOR THE FENNEL
· Wild fennel: 150 g
· Water: 3 l
FOR SAFFRON WATER
· Saffron in pistils: 0.5 g
· Water: 200 g
FOR THE CRUNCHY CRUNCH
· Breadcrumbs: 150 g
· Tomato puree: 30 g
· Organic extra virgin olive oil Il Cavallino: 40 g
· Garlic: to taste
· Oregano: to taste
· Parsley: to taste
· Dried chilli: to taste

Preparation To make the pasta with sardines, first clean the wild fennel by removing the toughest parts of the stems. Bring 3 liters of water to a boil in a saucepan, then add the fennel and boil it for 3-4 minutes if tender, or 10-12 minutes if late. Drain the fennel and keep the cooking water aside. Transfer the fennel into a colander and crush it to remove excess water. Add the liquid obtained to the cooking water kept aside. Finally, chop the fennel. Prepare the saffron water: toast the saffron pistils in a saucepan for a couple of minutes, then blend with the water and bring to a boil. When it starts to boil, turn off the heat and let it rest for 15-20 minutes.

Set aside and pass to the crunchy breadcrumbs: pour the tomato sauce and oil together with the finely chopped garlic and oregano in a blender. Also add the chilli and parsley, then blend to obtain a homogeneous mixture. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and add the breadcrumbs, then mix well to mix. Shell everything with a large mesh sieve or a colander so as to eliminate moisture, taking care to put the residues retained by the sieve back into the bowl. Pour the breadcrumbs thus obtained into a pan, add salt and toast until it becomes dry and crunchy. Now you can dedicate yourself to cleaning the sardines: prepare a couple of bowls with water and ice that you will need to remove the blood from the fish during the cleaning phases. Cut off the head, dorsal and ventral fins, gradually placing the sardines in one of the bowls with water and ice. Open the sardines like a book, remove the bones and rinse them in the second bowl with water and ice. Drain the cleaned sardines and place them on a tray lined with absorbent paper, then pat them dry to dry. Finally chop them coarsely dividing each into 3 pieces. You are ready to cook the sauce: peel and finely chop the spring onions, then fry them in a pan with oil, minced garlic and anchovies, keeping the oil from the preserves aside. When the anchovies begin to flake, add a drop of their oil and the chilli. After a few minutes, pour the saffron water and pine nuts. Also add the raisins and fennel. Mix well, then add the sardines. Season with salt and, if necessary, add more water: the sardines must be covered. Meanwhile, bring the fennel cooking water to a boil; if this is not enough you can stretch it with more water. Add salt to the boil and cook the spaghetti for the indicated time, then drain them in the pan with the sauce.
Add a little more oil and sauté the pasta for a maximum of one minute, stirring gently. Complete the dish with the crunchy breadcrumbs and immediately serve your pasta with sardines!