Don't Panic!

Last night I had a bit of scare, I was on my way to whole foods to buy few things I needed for the "sicilian style: pasta con le sarde' I'd set out to make...when all of a sudden I realized, I didn't have my wallet! I looked in all the usual places and unsual ones and nothing. I sat down, anxiety started to set in... very carefully I traced back my steps to the last time I'd used it...whole foods! called them, the lady on the other end said "ah no wallet here, sorry hun". Back to square one. When mr.a got home I casually said "btw seen my wallet anywhere" trying to hide my panic, to which he replied "noooo...have you misplaced it?" should be noted he did a lot of re-arraging/organizing this weekend, while I was elbow deep in flour with the pear tart and having a bit of a meltdown over the cuisinart. We looked in the closet he rearranged, now two of us tracing back all the steps over the weekend, at this point i'm getting a headache thinking all the stuff i need to do if wallet has in fact been misplaced. When all of a sudden it dawns on me, my old NGI tote! that's what I'd used last time I went food shopping and mr. a had moved it into some little obscure corner of the closet (id left it in plain sight). As I reached for it my little heart pounding at the speed of light, there it was!!! I was so happy to be reunited with it! Why I'm telling you all this dear reader is because I had to get creative with dinner since I wasn't able to go out and gather few things I needed. So my "sicilian style: pasta con le sarde" was with a few twists. No pine nuts, I used walnuts I had at hand, instead of 1 onion I used a leek and a shallot, and few other alterations. It was eaten so quickly it didn't get it's photo-op! (Thus the Sicilian landscape picture above)

Sicilian Pasta Con Le Sarde
Serves 4 (or 2 very hungry people)

Ingredients
For sauce:
3 T extra virgin olive oil
1 leek, small dice
1 large shallot, small dice
2 large cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 t fennel seeds, lightly toasted and ground*
1/2 cup fennel, small dice (1/2 med bulb)
1 can tomato paste (6 oz can)*
1 1/2 cups water, vegetable OR fish stock
tiny pinch of saffron, dissolved in 1 T of hot water*
1/4 cup currants, soaked in hot water to cover (about 5 min) do not drain
3/4 pound fresh sardines, cleaned and cut up OR 1/2 pound canned sardines, coarsely chopped (we made ours with fresh, it is so worth it!)
sea salt and red pepper flakes to taste

For the Breadcrumb Topping
1/3 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
4 anchovy fillets, minced or 1 T anchovy paste
1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted and coarsely chopped
2-3 T extra virgin olive oil

For the Pasta:
1 T sea salt
1/2 pound thick whole wheat pasta (bucatini, fettuccine etc.)

Procedure
To prepare Sauce:
1. In large skillet, heat oil on medium flame. Add shallots and leek, cook 2-3 minutes until begin to soften. Add garlic, fennel seeds and fennel. Lower heat and sweat, covered, until fennel begins to soften.
2. Add tomato paste, stock and saffron. Add currants and their soaking liquid. Add sardines.
3. Let sauce simmer, covered on low heat for 20-25 minutes. Season with salt and pepper flakes to taste.

To prepare the breadcrumb topping:
1. In a medium bowl, combine breadcrumbs, anchovies and pine nuts. Add oil one T at a time until mixture has a consistency of wet sand.
2. In a medium frying pan, toast breadcrumbs mixture on low heat until mixture is slightly browned. Set aside.

For the Pasta
1. Bring a 6-8 quart pot of water to a boil. Add salt and pasta. Cook 10-12 minutes or until al dentel.
2. Drain pasta in a colander. Place pasta in a metal bowl and toss with all the sauce.
3. Place pasta in a serving bowl. Sprinkle seasoned breadcrumbs on top of pasta.
Devour immediately. Enjoy thoroughly. Happy eating!
* you can omit these ingredients if not at hand and trust me it will still be amazing

Thank you Coldplay for the title
Image by Angela M. Lobefaro via Flickr