Sardine, celery and leek pasta recipe
Tinned sardines are a health-food hero: cheap, sustainable, convenient and packed with healthy omega-3s as well as calcium. They are delicious cooked into a sauce that’s more savoury than fishy, and topped with crunchy fried crumbs, aka pangrattato, which are the Italian “poor man’s Parmesan”.
Timings
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Serves
4
Ingredients
2 x 120g tins of sardines in olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tsp fennel seeds (optional)
3-4 leeks (about 400g), thinly sliced and washed
5 large sticks of celery (about 350g), very thinly sliced
Olive oil, for cooking, if needed
Squeeze of lemon juice
250g dried wholemeal pasta (I like spaghetti or tagliatelle for this)
For the crunchy crumbs:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 thick slice old bread, crusts removed, whizzed to crumbs in a food processor
1 garlic clove, crushed
Grated zest of ½ lemon
A few feathery green leaves from the celery, finely chopped (optional)
Method
Tip the sardines and their oil into a pan. Add the garlic and the fennel seeds, if using, and cook over a medium heat, breaking up the sardines with a spoon to a mush.
Add the leek and celery to the pan and keep cooking until the vegetables are beginning to pick up a bit of colour. Add a bit more olive oil if it seems too dry. Season with lots of pepper and salt if it needs it.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in boiling water until al dente, then drain, keeping a cup of the cooking water aside.
Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan and add the breadcrumbs, garlic, lemon zest and chopped celery leaves (if you’re using them), plus a pinch of salt and pepper. Fry until the crumbs are golden and crisp.
Mix the pasta with the sardines and vegetables, and enough of the pasta cooking water to make a sauce.
Finish with a squeeze of lemon juice and serve with the scattered crumbs on top.
