The origins
It is said that pasta with sardines has ancient origins and was prepared for the first time by the Arab cook of Eufemio da Messina, commander of the Byzantine fleet, between the Byzantine and Arab domination, around the year 800 .
Eufemio da Messina, hostile to Byzantine domination, tried to drive out the invaders by leading some rebels, but was arrested and exiled on the pretext of having loved a nun and having tried to persuade her to abandon her vows. Eufemio found refuge in Africa where he allied himself with the Saracens and led them, with a spirit of revenge, towards Sicily.
Just when the exhausted fleet was in Mazara del Vallo , more precisely at Capo Granitola , our cook entered the scene. Having to feed the men on the ship with few ingredients available, thanks to his creativity, he created a dish with what the nature of the place offered him. He prepared pasta with sardines , not exactly fresh at that moment, combined with wild fennel to cover the strong flavor of the fish, with saffron, supplied by the Arabs themselves, and finally with pine nuts, to avoid any form of intoxication. The result was a simple and good dish at the same time, among the most appreciated in the centuries to come throughout Sicily. Eufemio's dish is still considered, even today, as the first "sea-mountains" in history.
Ingredients for 4 people)
- 400 g of linguine
- 800 g of fresh sardines
- 4 salted sardines
- 2 onions
- 50 g of soaked raisins
- 1 kg of wild fennel
- 2 sachets of saffron
- 30 g of pine nuts
- 2 tablespoons of sauce
- 100 g of toasted breadcrumbs
- Extra virgin olive oil (to taste)
- Salt to taste)
Method
Once cooked, add a sachet of saffron dissolved in warm water and salt to taste.
Boil the pasta al dente in the fennel cooking water, in which you have dissolved the other sachet of saffron . After draining it, add it to the sauce, sprinkling with breadcrumbs and serve.
