Inspired by the famous Sicilian recipe pasta con le sarde, this pasta dish combines canned sardines, and canned tomatoes, raisins and pine nuts, for a balanced, nutritious yet cheap meal.

Get plenty of nutritional benefits using only a few ingredients: canned sardines are high in omega-3 fatty acids, calcium and vitamins D, canned tomatoes are high in fiber and source of and vitamin C, raisins are high in potassium and source of iron and pine nuts are high in zinc, manganese, and polyunsaturated fatty acids.

 

Buon appetito! (Enjoy your meal)

 

Wholewheat spaghetti with canned sardines, canned tomatoes, raisins and pine nuts

 

Servings: 4

 

Ingredients:

- 300 g wholewheat spaghetti

- 400 g canned tomatoes

- 200 g canned sardines, drained

- 1 onion

- 3 anchovies (optional, just to give extra flavour)

- Extra-virgin olive oil

- 2 tablespoons pine nuts

- 2 tablespoons raisins

- Salt

- Pepper

- Red chili powder

- 4 tablespoons breadcrumbs

 

Method:

Finely chop the onion and put it into a frying pan with 1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil and anchovies (optional). Fry it for a minute at low heat. Chop the canned tomatoes into cubes and add them to the onion with a pinch of salt, pepper, red chili powder and the raisins and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes.

In the meantime, roast the breadcrumbs and pine nuts in a frying pan with 1 teaspoon of extra-virgin olive oil at low heat, stirring frequently to avoid burning. When the crumbs and the pine nuts are golden put them aside. Cut each canned sardines into 2-3 pieces and add them to the sauce. Stir and let it simmer for five minutes.

Now it is time to cook the pasta: bring salted water to boil and then add the pasta. Before draining the pasta, keep a glass of pasta water aside. Drain the pasta when is “al dente” following the instructions on the package. Add the pasta in the pan with the sauce and mix well, frying for a couple of minutes adding pasta water if needed. Serve the pasta, adding the roasted pine nuts and breadcrumbs directly on each plate.