Pasta Con le Sarde is a Sicilian dish that reflects Arabic influence on the island’s cuisine. The dish features either long bucatini, linguini or spaghetti in a sauce made from onions, fennel, raisins, pine nuts, anchovies, sardines, and saffron. Instead of cheese, toasted and seasoned bread crumbs are used in the usual cucina povera style to give complexity to the dish.
Pasta with Sardines may use fresh or canned sardines.
You must try this dish, especially if you plan to visit Palermo, even though you might find it anywhere in Sicily and sometimes in unlikely places such as Fivizzano in Tuscany, where we had the version shown in the picture.