Canned fish has had a bit of a bad reputation which as always stems from cheap products like sardines which certainly don’t compare to high end canned fish which is a luxury in itself. When you open a can of the good stuff there are endless possibilities from tapas to pasta dishes like this which are a get-out-of-jail card when unexpected guests turn up. My larder is never without a box of Cipriani Tagliolini which is an excellent high quality egg pasta and what’s more it only takes two minutes to cook which makes knocking up a quick sardine ragout.
Serves 4
4 serving of Tagliolini
2 cans of sardines in oil
60-80ml extra virgin olive oil
2 small onions peeled, halved and finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely grated or crushed
1 medium red or green chilli, trimmed and finely chopped, seeds and all
1 tbsp tomato purée
1-2 tbsp chopped parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Cook the spaghetti in boiling salted water according to manufacturers cooking instructions then drain in a colander, keeping a little of the cooking liquid for adjusting the sauce.
Meanwhile drain the oil from the sardines into a saucepan and cook the sardines and chilli on a low heat for a couple minutes until soft. Add the tomato purée, half of the olive oil and 100ml of the pasta cooking water and simmer for 5-6 minutes. The sardines will be breaking down into the sauce now, add a little more pasta water if necessary until the sauce is a good coating consistency for the pasta.
To serve fold the pasta into the sauce and add the parsley and the rest of the olive oil and stir over a low heat for a minute or so allowing the spaghetti to absorb some of the sauce, re-season if necessary and transfer to warmed bowls to serve.
