Fettuccine with Sardines

and Bread Crumbs

"We'll make it like we do when we make pasta with tuna, except we'll add in some lemon juice and white wine." I said as we prepped dinner Tuesday night.

This was my desire. I let it blanket me all afternoon as I executed task after task at work.

01/12/10 01:39 PM

Okay, I did a little research and found some recipes for pasta with sardines. I think this is what we should eat tonight. We'll make it like we make pasta with tuna. And a nice sprinkling of toasted bread crumbs to finish it off. I'm thinking this will be the next post.

01/12/10 02:12 PM

That sounds good. :)

Something to look forward to. I would need a plentiful bowl sprinkled with freshly toasted bread crumbs. A nice glass of cabernet. Some olives to pick at here and there between bites. A nice dusting of parmesan. Rapturous delight.

Once home, it was a flurry of methodical prep.

Garlic, shallot and parsley were chopped. A tin of sardines, opened. Water on the burner to boil. A half lemon at the ready. A bottle of white, a grigio. The salt, the pepper, the crushed red pepper, the extra virgin olive oil.

Roberto pulled fettuccine from the cupboard. "I think we're running low on pasta." He said, jokingly.

"I know. I'm starting to worry." I replied, jokingly.

We crack ourselves up.

Roberto dropped the pasta into the boiling, salted water, and gave it a quick stir. He proceeded to ignite another burner, doused the pan with a generous shot of olive oil, the garlic, shallot, and crushed red pepper. Once this was sufficiently heated, he added in the sardines which he proceeded to break apart with tongs. 

Parsley.

A nice splash of white wine.

A  healthy squeeze of lemon juice.

Meantime, I prepped the bread crumbs. A few pieces from a homemade french baguette from Sunday was diced finely, mixed with extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, and set to toast.

I was careful to keep an eye on the toaster oven. While it can quite angelically toast an english muffin, it has devilish intentions whenever I make toasted bread crumbs.

But, we averted bread crumb disaster, at last.

Our pasta was ready. Pulled from the salty depths, planted in the pan, stirred. More parsley was added, a little more cooking water. Some cracked black pepper. When everything was just so, we plated.

A plentiful portion, the kind I had been dreaming about all afternoon, was set into our respective bowls and topped with the bread crumbs.

I took pictures while Roberto waited patiently for his bowl. I made quick work of it. I was anticipating...salivating. Sometimes, ah, the pictures "...whatever will be, will be...".

Happiness is a new dish set upon the table, focused on, enjoyed, devoured. We'll try next time with capers or a good chop of olives in the mix. Another something salty with a little vinegary kick to it. Just the right opposition to brighten, open things up.

The fettuccine was perfect, with it's wide/flat body, for this endeavor. It pulled in the flavors and tangled with the bits of this and that.

The leftover crumbs at the bottom of the bowl soaked up and swelled, a prize waiting for that last bite.

No surprise, we ate every last tangled and swollen bit.