Pasta con le Sarde

 

½ cup currants

¼ tsp. red-pepper flakes

½ cup dry white wine

1 T. butter

½ cup unseasoned dry bread crumbs

½ cup plus 6 T. extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 small cloves garlic, minced

1 pound fennel, bulb finely chopped, fronds chopped and reserved

1 T. fennel seeds, crushed

Salt

1 pound canned sardines

1 pound bucatini pasta

½ cup pine nuts, toasted

¼ cup capers, rinsed

Freshly ground black pepper

 

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Combine the currants, red-pepper flakes and wine in a bowl; set aside. In a small sauté pan, melt the butter. Add the bread crumbs and cook, stirring, until golden brown. Transfer to a bowl, stir in 2 T. of the olive oil and set aside. In a heavy skillet, heat ½ cup olive oil over medium-low heat. When hot, add the onion, garlic, fennel bulb and fennel seeds. Season with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the fennel is tender, about 25 minutes. Add the wine mixture and the sardines, breaking them into pieces with a fork. Bring to a boil and gently simmer for 10 minutes. Add enough salt to the boiling water so that it tastes salty. Boil the bucatini until al dente, 6 to 8 minutes; strain. Return the pasta to the pasta pot and set over low heat. Fold in the fennel-sardine mixture. Toss in the remaining 4 T. olive oil. Add 3/4 of the fennel fronds, the pine nuts, the capers and a quarter of the bread crumbs. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide pasta among plates and sprinkle the remaining bread crumbs and fennel fronds over each. Serve immediately.