This is one of the signature dishes in Sicilian cooking. The use of fresh sardines brings the flavour of the seas that surround the island.  The North African spices, earthy and sweet at the same time, with currants, pine nuts and fresh herbs is an exotic mix that could only be from Sicily.
I tried it first  in the town of Trapani on Sicily’s west coast when researching my book ” Spring in Sicily”.  This is an area where the Moorish influence in cooking is still strong and the waterfront is full of boats leaving for  North Africa which seems just over the horizon. Preparing it the other day brought back many fond  memories.
Even if we can’t travel, we can let our taste buds take us to distant places.

• serves 5-6 people

• 500 gr fresh sardines, if possible cleaned and filleted
• 1 large Spanish onion, finely chopped
• 2 baby fennels, very thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon each of ground turmeric, cumin and cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground fresh ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon chilly flakes
• 50 gr currants
• 50 gr  pine nuts, toasted
• 100 gr bread crumbs
• 6 anchovy filets in oil
• 1/2 a bunch each of Italian parsley, mint and marjoram, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• 150 ml very good olive oil
• 500 gr pasta ( strozzapreti , farfalle or penne)

• add 3 tablespoon olive oil to a large  saucepan
• gently cook the onions, spices, anchovies for about 10 minutes

• now add the fennel, half the sardines cut into pieces, currants and pine nuts
• cook for a further 10 minutes, braking up the sardines with a fork
• now add the chopped herbs and bread crumbs, salt and pepper
• in a separate fry pan, fry the remaining sardines in a little olive oil
• when they are crunchy, set aside and when cool brake them into large pieces
• boil plenty of salted water and cook the pasta until al dente
• drain the pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the water
• add 50 ml olive oil and the reserved water to the pasta
• mix in half the sardine mixture and mix it well
• now the rest of the sardine mix and the fried sardines