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Sardine Spaghetti

by Nigella

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Introduction

In the normal run of things, I always know what I’m going to have for lunch or dinner. I care far too much about what I eat to feel comfortable just leaving it to chance. But there are inevitably those days when I run out of time or energy and find myself, as mealtime approaches, growling with hunger, and more in need than ever of the transporting power of good food.

This is where my Sardine Spaghetti comes in: it’s an invaluable store-cupboard standby that can always be relied upon to do the trick, and pretty much instantly and effortlessly.

If I’m having sardines on toast, I always go for a tin of sardines in olive oil and lemon; here, it’s sardines in tomato sauce that are needed. I advise you, however, to avoid the ones that are labelled as “spicy tomato sauce”. That may sound illogical given that the dried chilli flakes I add certainly make this dish pack a punch, but in all my testing (with a number of brands) I have found the taste of the tinned sardines in straightforward tomato sauce infinitely superior to the ones labelled as sold as spicy!

For US cup measures, use the toggle at the top of the ingredients list.

This is where my Sardine Spaghetti comes in: it’s an invaluable store-cupboard standby that can always be relied upon to do the trick, and pretty much instantly and effortlessly.

For US cup measures, use the toggle at the top of the ingredients list.

Image of Nigella's Sardine Spaghetti — Photo by Nigella

Ingredients

Serves: 2

Metric Cups

200 grams spaghetti
1 x 15ml tablespoon olive oil
finely grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon plus 1-2 teaspoons juice
2 spring onions (finely sliced)
1 large clove garlic (minced)
½ teaspoon Maldon sea salt flakes (or ¼ teaspoon fine salt)
½ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon chilli flakes
1 x 120 grams tin whole sardines in tomato sauce
3 x 15ml tablespoons chopped flatleaf parsley (plus more to sprinkle)

7 ounces spaghetti
1 tablespoon olive oil
finely grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon plus 1-2 teaspoons juice
2 scallions (finely sliced)
1 large clove garlic (minced)
½ teaspoon soft sea salt flakes (or ¼ teaspoon fine salt)
½ teaspoon dried oregano
¼ teaspoon chile flakes
1 x 4 - 5 ounces tin whole sardines in tomato sauce
3 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley (plus more to sprinkle)

Method

Cook the spaghetti in a large pan of boiling salted water according to packet instructions until al dente. Start checking at 8 minutes.
When the pasta’s halfway through cooking time, then get on with the sauce. Put the oil in a pan big enough to take the spaghetti later as well, and grate in the lemon zest. Warm over medium-low heat and, when it begins to sizzle gently, add the sliced spring onions and cook, stirring frequently, for 1-2 mins.
Take the pan off the heat to stir in the garlic, salt, dried oregano and chilli flakes. Put the pan back over medium-low heat for another 30 seconds.
Scrape the sardines and every little bit of their sauce, plus 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, into the spring onion pan, stirring to break them up a little. They’ll disintegrate further once you toss the spaghetti with them later, so don’t be too brutal now; while a bit of mush is desirable, it’s good to keep some chunks of sardine, too.
Lower a cup into the spaghetti pan to remove some of the pasta water. Add 3 tablespoons of the pasta water to the sardines, and stir gently. Once the sardines are hot in the sauce, take the pan off the heat, by which time your spaghetti should be ready.
Using tongs or a pasta claw, add the pasta straight from the pan; the pasta water that clings to the strands actively helps the sauce amalgamate and cover the pasta well. Toss gently but thoroughly and taste to see if you want any more salt or lemon juice, adding more pasta water, 1 tablespoon at a time, if the spaghetti seems dry. Add most of the parsley and toss again, then divide between 2 small bowls, and sprinkle the remaining parsley on top.

Cook the spaghetti in a large pan of boiling salted water according to packet instructions until al dente. Start checking at 8 minutes.
When the pasta’s halfway through cooking time, then get on with the sauce. Put the oil in a pan big enough to take the spaghetti later as well, and grate in the lemon zest. Warm over medium-low heat and, when it begins to sizzle gently, add the sliced scallions and cook, stirring frequently, for 1-2 mins.
Take the pan off the heat to stir in the garlic, salt, dried oregano and chile flakes. Put the pan back over medium-low heat for another 30 seconds.
Scrape the sardines and every little bit of their sauce, plus 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, into the scallion pan, stirring to break them up a little. They’ll disintegrate further once you toss the spaghetti with them later, so don’t be too brutal now; while a bit of mush is desirable, it’s good to keep some chunks of sardine, too.
Lower a cup into the spaghetti pan to remove some of the pasta water. Add 3 tablespoons of the pasta water to the sardines, and stir gently. Once the sardines are hot in the sauce, take the pan off the heat, by which time your spaghetti should be ready.
Using tongs or a pasta claw, add the pasta straight from the pan; the pasta water that clings to the strands actively helps the sauce amalgamate and cover the pasta well. Toss gently but thoroughly and taste to see if you want any more salt or lemon juice, adding more pasta water, 1 tablespoon at a time, if the spaghetti seems dry. Add most of the parsley and toss again, then divide between 2 small bowls, and sprinkle the remaining parsley on top.