Saveur Cooks Authentic Italian

If you want to make pasta the right way, take a gander at Saveur Cooks Authentic Italian. The editors of Saveur share 120-plus recipes on enough seafood, meat, poutry, and desserts to make you drool. From SF's North Beach to Genoa, the country's vast culinary traditions are explored, and there are tons of tips for the perfect entree (how to buy truffles, pine nuts, etc.). A must for Italian food lovers.

This recipe below looks so good...makes me crave pasta for dinner tonight!

Bucatini con le Sarde
(Hollow Noodles with Sardines)

Serves 6

Legend has it that this pasta, considered Sicily’s national dish, was invented by ninth-century Arab army cooks on the island, who, seeking ingredients to fee the troops, found wild fennel in the hills and fresh sardines in the harbors. Cultivated fennel and canned sardines work perfectly well.

1/2 cup dried currants
Salt
Green frontds of 3 fennel bulbs, trimmed of main stems (reserve bulbs for another use)
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
1 large yellow onion, peeled and finely chopped
6 anchovy filets
2 4-oz. cans sardines, drained of their oil
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/2 tsp. saffron
1 lb. bucatini

1. Put currants into a small bowl, cover with hot water, and set aside to plump for at least 15 minutes. Fill a large pot with 3 quarts of water, add several large pinches of salt, and bring to a boil over high heat. Add fennel fronds and cook for 2 minutes. Remove fennel with a slotted spoon and set aside to let cool. Reserve fennel water to cook pasta. Coarsely chop cooled fennel.

2. Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp. of the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add bread crumbs and cook, stirring, until golden, 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

3. Heat 1/2 cup of the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and saute, stirring with a wooden spoon, until soft but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add anchovies and cook for 3 minutes more. Stir sardines in gently, without breaking them up too much. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Drain currants and add, along with pine nuts and fennel greens, to saucepan, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

4. Bring the 3 quarts of fennel water back to a boil and stir in saffron. Add bucatini and cook until al dente, 10-12 minutes. Reserve about a cup of the cooking water, then drain pasta in a colander. Return pasta to the pot and stir in the fennel-sardine mixture, the remaining 2 tbsp. oil, and enough of the reserved cooking water (you may not use the whole cup) to make the pasta moist and saucy. Adjust seasoning and serve with reserved toasted bread crumbs sprinkled on top.

Recipe used with permission from Saveur Cooks Authentic Italian, by The Editors of Saveur Magazine; Chronicle Books, 2008
www.chroniclebooks.com