It is said that pasta with sardines has ancient origins, that it 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 !
Pasta with sardines is a typical dish of Sicilian cuisine, included in the list of traditional Italian agri-food products of the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies.
For purists, custodians of Sicilian tradition, this is a seasonal dish: it must be prepared from March to September, the period in which fresh sardines are available at the market and it is possible to collect wild fennel in the fields, but today obviously it is eaten with satisfaction all the year!
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