Ingredients
Serves 10500 g sardine fillets
300 g finocchietto, wild fennel leaves
100 g onions
50 g tinned Italian anchovies
150 g pine nuts
150 g sultana raisins
100 ml white wine
5 g Saffron, pistils
200 g pecorino siciliano cheese
1 kg pici dough (See below)
20 g garlic
150 g bread crumbs
50 g almonds, whole
Pici (hand rolled pasta) (makes 20 portions)
500g flour, wholemeal
1 kg '00' flour
400 g semolina
600 water
125 g white wine
Method
To make the Pici (hand rolled pasta)
Put all the flour together.
Add the water and the wine at room temperature with all the flours.
Mix until smooth and elastic.
Finocchietto
Boil the finocchietto in the water (where we will cook the pasta for about 5 minutes), drain it and put aside, keep the water so we will cook the pasta in it.
(If you can't find finocchietto just use the green leaves of the fennel.)
For The Bread Crumbs
Toast the almonds, let them cool.
Put them in a processor to make a powder.
Put one clove of the garlic in a cold fry pan with the almond powder and the bread crumbs and toast very slowly, take the garlic off and set the crumbs aside.
For The Sauce
1. Soak the raisins in water for one hour.
2. Pan fry the sardine fillets, put aside.
3. Put the pasta on to cook in the finocchietto water.
4. Add to the fry pan chopped onion, chopped garlic, anchovies. Fry for about 2 minutes and then add white wine.
5. Reduce the wine and add the finocchietto - keep cooking.
6. Add the saffron, add a ladle of the finochietto cooking water.
7. Now add the sardine fillets, cook for 2 minutes.
8. Add the raisins (soaked in water) and the pine nuts.
9. Add the pasta that was cooking in the finocchietto water.
10. Sauté together.
11. Add the pecorino.
12. Rest for a few seconds before serving.
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