As a true Sicilian, I love traditional dishes and naturally pasta c’anciova is one of them. From pasta with sardines and wild fennel, to Sicilian-style eggplant caponata, passing through Catanese fried sarde a beccafico and arancini, in Sicily taste always takes the lead! Pasta c’anciovi and muddica atturrata are no exception among the many traditional dishes you can enjoy in my wonderful region. But what is “pasta c’anciova”? Pasta with anchovies is a very humble dish of the traditional Sicilian cuisine, particularly from Palermitan cuisine, made with a sauce of anchovies, pine nuts, raisins and tomato paste. A uniquely delicious recipe, made even more delightful by the addition of toasted breadcrumbs, that is the “muddica atturrata”, commonly known as the poor man’s grated cheese. Let’s head to the kitchen now: we’ll prepare the pasta c’anciova and muddica atturrata together and you’ll see how delicious it is. But before rushing to the stove, as always, if you want to stay updated on all my other recipes you can follow my Facebook page and my Instagram profile.
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 1.1 lb pasta (Sicilian margherita, reginette or bucatini)
- 3/4 + 1 tbsp cup tomato paste
- 6 fillets anchovy fillets in oil (or desalinated)
- 1 oz pine nuts ((about 30 g))
- 1/4 cup raisins ((about 40 g))
- 5 oz onion ((about 1 medium, ~150 g))
- 1 clove garlic
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- to taste salt
- 1 cup breadcrumbs ((about 3.5 oz / 100 g))
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
Tools
- Pot
- Pan
Preparation
Immediately put a pot of lightly salted water on the stove and when it boils add the pasta. In the meantime, prepare the sauce.
To make pasta c’anciova, finely chop the onion, gather it in a pan together with a clove of garlic and let it sizzle over medium-high heat, stirring often so nothing burns. Add the anchovy fillets and cook a few minutes, stirring continuously; you will see them soon melt into the sauce.
Once the anchovies have melted, add the pine nuts, the raisins, and shortly after the tomato paste.
Stir, let it cook for a few more seconds, then add two ladles of hot water or some of the pasta cooking water. Stir to obtain a homogeneous sauce, cook for two minutes and turn off the heat.
When the pasta is cooked, drain it al dente and add it to the sauce, toss well, adding pasta cooking water if necessary, and plate. Serve with a generous sprinkle of muddica atturrata (read below).
To make the muddica atturrata, put some breadcrumbs in a pan, add a drizzle of oil and toast for a few minutes, stirring often, until they become slightly browned.
Storage and tips
Pasta with anchovies should be eaten immediately; any leftovers should be refrigerated and consumed within 24 hours. The sauce keeps in the fridge in a closed airtight container for 3-4 days. The muddica atturrata keeps refrigerated in a sealed jar for up to 1 month, but it will gradually lose crispness and flavor.
As for pasta shapes, I recommend reginette or margherita pasta and alternatively bucatini.
