- TLC >
- Guides >
- Food >
- Recipes >
- Courses & Dishes >
- Main Dishes >
- Pasta
Pasta with Italian Parsley and Smoked Sardines
Don't get squeamish, sardines are delicious and they don't make a dish taste fishy. They simply add a depth of flavor to the dish. They should, however, be used in moderation because they are imported from the Mediterranean. But they're one of my guilty pleasures. I love this pasta, it's an easy mid-week meal in my house anytime.
I had a bumper crop of parsley a few years ago and found a recipe similar to this to make use of it all. It's easy to whip up and loaded with complex flavors. To outweigh the use of the imported sardines, source the rest of the ingredients locally where possible especially the parsley, onion, garlic, and lemon. When you can't find it locally use the organic variety.
INGREDIENTS
| 4 tbsp | olive oil |
| 1/2 cup | yellow or red onion, minced finely |
| 3 | cloves garlic, crushed |
| Salt and Pepper | |
| Zest of 1 lemon | |
| 1 lb | dried penne pasta |
| 2 4 ΒΌ oz | cans of imported smoked sardines packed in olive oil |
| 2 cups | of flat leaf Italian parsley |
| 1/2 cup | dry white wine |
| 1/2 cup | chicken or veggie stock |
| 1 tbsp | capers |
| Juice of 1 lemon | |
| Pecorino-Romano or Parmesan cheese for garnish | |
PREPARATION:
Method
- Fill a large pot with water and turn to a rolling boil. Add a good handful of salt. In Italy they say you want your pasta water to taste "like the sea."
- While that's heating up, start prepping all your veggies and get them ready to cook if you haven't already.
- Heat up a pan and add 2 tbsp olive oil. When the pan is hot add your garlic and onion. Add a good pinch of salt and a couple cracks off a pepper grinder and stir. Sweat and caramelize the onions a bit so that there is only a hint of browning. Add the lemon zest to the onions.
- While the onions are going, add your pasta to the boiling water. The pasta will probably need about 7 minutes before it's al dente and ready to be drained
(reserve 1/3 cup of the pasta water).
- Carefully open the tins of fish, drain the oil out and discard it. Add the pieces of fish, if they're large feel free to break them up with a spoon
(by the time this dish is done they'll be broken up into flakey, bite-sized pieces).
- Add the parsley and stir in to incorporate. The pan will spit and crackle a bit.
- Add the white wine and let it reduce a lot. There should only be a small amount of liquid remaining.
- Add your stock and reduce a bit further. Then add the pasta water and turn the heat down to a simmer for another minute.
- Add all of your drained pasta to the sauce (you may need to transfer all of this into a big bowl or the pot you cooked the pasta in). Add capers and the juice of a lemon. Season liberally with pepper and 2 tbsp of good extra virgin olive oil.
- Plate it up and sprinkle with a nice finishing sea salt, a few shavings of Pecorino-Romano or Parmesan cheese, and maybe even an extra squeeze of lemon.
Watch the video:
Organic A to Z: H is for Herbs
You Might Also Like
Cooking turkey doesn't have to be time-consuming or difficult if you follow our easy-to-understand recipes.
If you're looking for a great main dish, try this recipe for Christine's meatloaf from Sister Waves.
