Pasta con le Sarde

Directions

1. 1
   Coarsely chop the stalks of wild fennel with their flowers or the fronds and stalks of cultivated fennel.
2. 2
   Place in a large saucepan, add 5 quarts of cold water, 1 tablespoon of the coarse sea salt, and bring to a simmer, poaching the fennel until the stalks are tender.
3. 3
   Drain the fennel, reserving its cooking liquors and press it against the side of the pot to express all its liquid.
4. 4
   Finely mince the poached fennel and set it aside.
5. 5
   In a small saute pan over a medium flame, pan-roast the pine nuts until quite brown and set aside.
6. 6
   In a small saute pan, pan-roast the saffron threads for 1 minute over a low flame.
7. 7
   Add the 2 tablespoons of white wine, dissolving the threads in it and then mixing the saffroned wine with the remaining wine and the tomato puree.
8. 8
   Rinse the anchovies of their salt, remove their heads and bones, and lightly dry them on absorbent paper towels, finally crushing them gently with a fork.
9. 9
   In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil and lightly saute the onion.
10. 10
    Add the minced fennel and saute for 1 minute.
11. 11
    Add the crushed anchovies and the sardine fillets, rolling the fish about in the oil with the aromatics for 1/2 minute before adding the plumped raisins and their juices, 1/2 cup of the pine nuts, and the saffron/tomato mixture.
12. 12
    Stir, amalgamating the elements and reducing the liquids so that a thick sauce results.
13. 13
    Turn the sauce out into a bowl, permitting it to cool and its perfumes and flavors to rest and intensify.
14. 14
    Never refrigerate the sauce.
15. 15
    Just before serving, cook the pasta to al dente in the reserved fennel-poaching water, adding 1 additional tablespoon of coarse sea salt.
16. 16
    Drain the pasta, leaving it somewhat wet, and dress the hot pasta with the sauce, carefully coating each strand.
17. 17
    Serve the pasta in shallow bowls, strewing it with the remaining pine nuts and a dusting of bread crumbs.
18. 18
    In high summer, we might sip iced moscato with the pasta, but in cooler weather, a rough, tannic red seems right.