Sardine Spaghetti with Chives, a quick and tasty dish utilizing a few pantry staples such as canned sardines and dried pasta. Fresh bread crumbs are toasted til golden brown and then tossed with some snipped chives lending a delicate and subtle onion taste which doesn’t overpower but rather enhances this simple pasta dish.
Pasta con le sardine or rather Pasta with sardines is a classic Sicilian pasta dish. Most notably made with wild fennel, raisins and also anchovies. Sometimes pine nuts are also thrown in the mix.
My version here is a little spin-off from the more traditional one and inspired from Food Bloggers of Canada recipe round-up featuring chives.
I put this rather delicate herb to work by snipping off a few strands and tossing it with my homemade toasted breadcrumbs which I then used in my Sardine Spaghetti with Chives recipe.
It imparted such freshness and flavour to this simple pasta dish and was devoured in no time at all!
Being a convenient source of heart healthy omega-3 fatty acids, calcium and vitamin D are really great reasons to include canned sardines in our diet. And, also not to mention how fairly inexpensive the canned variety really is and so versatile!
Although they aren’t extremely bony, you may want to remove the fish bones if you’re squeamish about them. Parting the underside of the sardines to open them up and gently removing the fish bones with a small fork or knife will quickly do the trick.
Under 30 Minute Sardine Spaghetti with Chives
Coupled with the fact that sardines are so nutritious, they’re readily available year round making mealtime a breeze.
Start with a large stock pot filled with cold water. While the water comes to a roaring boil prep your ingredients both for the bread crumbs and quick sauce with sardines.
With this in mind you should basically have your meal ready in the time it takes to boil water and cook the pasta.
Then simply plate and serve with a light drizzle of your best extra virgin olive oil, topped with the reserved bread crumbs and garnished with fresh chives.
Sardine Spaghetti with Chives is an exceptionally easy dish with minimum preparation!
If you love this recipe you may also enjoy my Penne Rigate With Tomato Tuna Sauce featuring canned tuna.
Buon Appetito!
Sardine Spaghetti with Chives
Ingredients
- FRESH BREAD CRUMBS
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 cup bread crumbs
- salt & pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons snipped fresh chives
- PASTA
- 454 grams spaghetti
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 generous pinches of red chili flakes
- 3 cans of sardines packed in oil 120 grams each I cut the under side to open them and removed the fish bones
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to boil,
- Salt the water and cook the spaghetti according to package instructions.
- Meanwhile prepare the bread crumbs by heating 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet, over medium heat.
- Add in the bread crumbs, salt and pepper and toast the crumbs, while stirring often, til they have browned.
- Once browned, remove from heat and stir in the chopped fresh chives.
- Transfer the toasted bread crumbs to a plate and set aside.
- Using the same skillet (wiped clean), heat the 1/3 cup of oil over medium low heat.
- Add in the minced garlic with the chili flakes, salt and pepper and heat till fragrant for 1 minute.
- Stir in the sardines and sautè for 2 minutes, taking care not to break up the sardines over much.
- Reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water and drain the pasta.
- Add the cooked pasta to the sardine mixture with a little of the pasta water and toss well.
- If pasta seems a little dry, go ahead and add a little more pasta water.
- Toss with 1 cup of the toasted bread crumb and chive mixture.
- Plate the pasta and garnish with remaining 1/2 cup of bread crumb and chive mixture.