Spicy Sardine Puttanesca

I love fish. it’s probably in my genes. My mom is from a harbor town in Germany and my dad is Bengali, which any Indian will tell you is synonymous with loving fish. Although it doesn’t take much for me to try a new seafood dish, I had always been a little hesitant to buy and open a can of sardines. My dad often had them as a lunchtime snack and as a kid the smell seemed overpowering. However, as an adult I’ve been intrigued by sardines because they’re super nutritious and environmentally friendly. So when we decided to experiment by buying a full case of sardines at Costco, I expected to try out a couple different recipes. However, the first recipe I concocted with these bad boys was so easy and delicious that I’ve now used the entire case of sardines just making this recipe over and over again.

Only after I made this recipe did I realize it’s basically a spicy, sardine-y play on puttanesca. It’s flavorful and complements the flavor of the sardines while balancing some of that fishiness with acid, spice, and brininess. If you’ve been on the fence about trying sardines or just haven’t considered them as an option, try this dish and I bet you’ll have a new favorite go-to pantry item. If you really won’t consider sardines, this dish could easily be made with oil-packed tuna, though I highly recommend trying the original sardine variant at least once.

Ingredients

• Sardines
• Garlic
• Pasta (I recommend a long noodle like linguini, spaghetti, or angel hair)
• Tomato paste and/or roasted tomatoes
• Sundried tomatoes
• Capers
• Olives
• Calabrian chilies
• Black pepper
• Crushed red pepper
• Parmesan
• Lemon

First things first, prep all your primary pasta fillings. In a pinch, you could leave your garlic, sundried tomatoes, olives, capers, Calabrian chilies, and sardines whole but I like giving them a rough chop.

This is an easy one-pot dinner if you time it right. Set aside your chopped pasta fillings and cook your pasta per instructions on the box (or if you’re fancy, I guess you can make your own pasta… show off). Reserve 1/4 cup of your pasta water. Once your pasta is cooked and drained, set aside and use your pasta pot to start your sauce.

Pro tip— if you use sundried tomatoes, Calabrian chilies, and/or sardines that are packed in olive oil, save the oil and use it as the base of this sauce!

Using an olive oil base (either fresh olive oil or some of the oil from your oil-packed ingredients), roast your garlic until light brown in color and fragrant. Then add all your chopped fillings to the pot as well as your tomato paste and/or roasted tomatoes. Let this cook on medium heat stirring frequently. As your sauce begins to thicken and smooth, add black pepper, crushed red pepper, lemon juice, and your reserved pasta water. Continue stirring and season to taste with salt and more pepper as necessary. Once your sauce is at the flavor and consistency you want, toss with your pasta until fully combined and top with grated parmesan and red pepper flakes.

And that’s it! There is so much complex and amazing flavor in this dish— it does not taste like something that takes less than 30 minutes to make. You can play around with your specific set of ingredients to alter the levels of acid, heat, and sweet to customize this dish to your liking. It’s fast, simple, and delicious fresh or as lunch the next day (though I doubt you’ll have leftovers).