Clean and wash the wild fennel. Boil it in salted water for 15 minutes, then drain it, but keep the cooking water. Clean and de-bone the sardines by opening them like a book and removing the central spine. Fry the finely chopped onion in a pan, add the anchovies mashing them well and letting them dissolve in the hot oil. Next add the pine nuts, raisins, tomato purée and sardines and cook over a high heat. Mix the saffron with a spoonful of hot water and add to the pan along with the coarsely chopped fennel. Mix in some of the water used to cook the wild fennel. Leave to cook for 10 minutes. At the end of cooking, add salt if necessary. Pour a drizzle of oil into a hot frying pan, add the bread crumbs and brown them for a few minutes until they are golden and crispy. In the meantime cook the fusilli in the water used to cook the wild fennel, adding salt if necessary. Drain the pasta and top with the sardine sauce. Sprinkle the bread crumbs on top.
400g Garofalo Fusilli Pasta400g sardines250g wild fennel1 tbsp tomato purée4 anchovy fillets in oil30g raisins30g pine nuts1 small pinch of saffronHalf an onionSalt to tastePepper to tasteExtra virgin olive oil (as required)Stale bread crumbs (as required)
Clean and wash the wild fennel. Boil it in salted water for 15 minutes, then drain it, but keep the cooking water. Clean and de-bone the sardines by opening them like a book and removing the central spine. Fry the finely chopped onion in a pan, add the anchovies mashing them well and letting them dissolve in the hot oil. Next add the pine nuts, raisins, tomato purée and sardines and cook over a high heat. Mix the saffron with a spoonful of hot water and add to the pan along with the coarsely chopped fennel. Mix in some of the water used to cook the wild fennel. Leave to cook for 10 minutes. At the end of cooking, add salt if necessary. Pour a drizzle of oil into a hot frying pan, add the bread crumbs and brown them for a few minutes until they are golden and crispy. In the meantime cook the fusilli in the water used to cook the wild fennel, adding salt if necessary. Drain the pasta and top with the sardine sauce. Sprinkle the bread crumbs on top.