Eating sardines is a good way to increase calcium in one’s diet, so I was looking around for a pasta recipe using sardines and saw one on Ciao Sicily by Damian Mandola & Johnny Carrabba, which I adapted for dinner last night.  (Damian’s restaurant in mid-town Houston (Damian’s Cucina Italiana) was the site of many business dinners I attended.  It closed in 2024 after a 41-year run.)

This quantity of sauce made 6 servings with each serving including fresh pasta made with 100 g. of semolina flour and 1 egg (plus a pinch of sauce.)  The pasta boiled in salted water for 2 minutes before being drained and mixed with an appropriate amount of sauce.  (The original recipe was for this amount of sauce to go with 1 lb. of bucatini.)

The original recipe did not include any garlic, which I would include in the future.  (Mayve 3 cloves, finely chopped.)  Also, the original recipe finished the pasta with sautéed bread crumbs (which I understand is very Sicilian), whereas I finished it with grated cotija cheese which I had left over from making Elote – Mexican Grilled Corn .

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 bunch scallions, finely chopped

1 cup fennel fronds (plus bulb if necessary), finely chopped

2 Tbs. fresh dill leaves

1 can anchovy filets

 2 (4.4 oz.) cans sardines

½ cup golden raisins

¼ cup pine nuts

2/3 cup dry white wine

16 oz. can petit diced tomatoes

Salt and pepper to taste

Put the olive oil, onions, fennel and dill in a large saucepan or skillet.  Cook over medium heat until the onions start to caramelize, about 4 minutes.  Add the anchovies and sardines and cook for 2-3 minutes, breaking up the sardines.  Add the raisins and pine nuts and cook for 5 minutes.  Add the wine and cook for about 5 minutes until the wine is nearly evaporated.  Add the tomatoes.  Bring the pan up to a boil and reduce to a simmer and cook for half an hour.  Add salt and pepper to taste.