Pasta with pan fried sardines & asparagus

Pasta is one of my favourite things to cook. I like to keep it simple but punchy. Many of my friends have heard me spoken of this beautiful bowl of pasta that I had when I was in Florence. I can still taste it in my mouth while I’m writing this post. Most people that we met recommended that we checked out Nerbone in the San Lorenzo Market. This is where I had the best bowl of pasta. It was just olives, tomato, celery & a good dose of olive oil. The pasta was al dente. The taste was clean but packed with flavour. Every bite was a delight. I remembered that I could not stop smiling

Pasta at Nerbone in Florence

When I was in uni, canned sardines with white bread was one of my staple diet. These days, I usually like to bake it with tomatoes,thinly sliced onions and olives and serve it with crusty bread. Or make a pasta dish with it

Raw sardines

Ingredients:

• 200 grams spagetti
• 6 gutted and cleaned whole sardines
• 10 cherry tomatoes diced
• A bunch of asparagus
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• A touch of lemon juice
• Olive oil

Cherry tomatoes

Method:

1. Coated gutted & cleaned sardines in seasonsed flour (salt & pepper)
2. Add pasta to a boiling pot of salted water. Remember to reserve at least 1/2 cup of pasta water for use later
3. Par boil the asparagus for 5 secs, drain and set aside
4. Sweat garlic & tomatoes in a pan
5. Add pasta & asparagus to the garlic and tomato sauce. Add pasta water and mix through
6. Season & serve with drizzle of good olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice

Pasta with pan fried sardine

Please make sure that the pasta is a little undercooked when you drain it. First, it will continue cooking itself. Second, there is more cooking time when mixed in with the simple tomato garlic sauce.  Over-cooked pasta is a crime!

As the weather gets warmer, I will start cooking lighter dishes like these. And start shedding some “goodies” that I’ve put on during winter And of course, you will see a change in the fresh ingredients used as well

Please share your favourite pasta dish of all time and feel free to link it as well

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