Maggie's Farm

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Wednesday, December 20. 2023

A Sicilian classic as part of your Vigilia: Pasta Con Sardi

 Around the HQ, we stick with the un-Yankee, Southern Italian/Sicilian Christmas Eve fast, which means seafood. In past years, I have had the real 7 Fishes with fried baccala, steamed mussels, scungilli,  etc etc. A wonderful fish feast which it would be a stretch to term "fasting." The Catholics are very clever with their concept of fasting.


The best-known Sicilian Primi is Pasta Con Sardi - pasta with anchovies (ie small sardines) - what I term Pasta With Minnows aka Pasta with Bait.


What is an "anchovy"? Never, ever use those tinned brown over-salted anchovies that they put on cheap pizzas. Disgusting stuff, cat food for a cat you hate. If you can't get fresh anchovies (they are white)  at your local fish market, use the canned white anchovies in olive oil. Tasty. Good Italian markets have good fresh or oiled white anchovy filets.



Here's the recipe. Yes, to be authentic it needs the breadcrumbs. And here's another Vigilia favorite: Fried Baccala Balls. I've also had these with mashed potato in the cod mix to hold it all together. Nothing is more delicious.


Traditionally, you have to have Struffoli for dessert even though I find it inedible.


Truth is, in recent years we just make poached salmon with yogurt-dill sauce, to be ready to serve at room temp. after getting home from church.

Posted by Bird Dog in Food and Drink, The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation at 15:39 | Comments (13) | Trackbacks (0)

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Another delicious salt cod dish is salada de bacalhau. It's a favorite in Brazil and consists of salt cod, diced potatoes, diced onions, green beans, olive oil and some spices. It's a meal unto itself and tastes very good and most probably good for you too.
#1 Verde on 2014-12-19 19:07 (Reply)
Our tiny town's stores don't run to anything as exotic as anchovies. We can get decent salmon, though, certainly up to poaching standards, and I've come to be a poached-salmon hound since I've discovered how fast and easy it is. I like to poach it with preserved lemons and sometimes a little powdered pho base added to the poaching liquid. Counting removing the skin and boiling it for a few minutes to produce a bit of fish stock, the whole thing can be done in half an hour for a quick lunch.
#2 Texan99 on 2016-12-24 09:20 (Reply)
My cooking is suspect, at best, and you guys are killing with me with what all sounds mad yummy.
#3 Hoss on 2018-12-18 17:32 (Reply)
Struffoli inedible? Are you nuts?
#4 Beppe on 2018-12-18 20:15 (Reply)
My local bread and wallets store has a fresh meat and fish department. They display on ice a bowl of anchovies which are buried in salt. How are they different from those in cans in oil?
#5 Apple Pie on 2018-12-18 22:30 (Reply)
You want to try something good with anchovies.

Make egg salad with mayo and a tad of mustard. Put it on a cracker and then put 1/2 of anchovy on it.. Or more if you want.

We have been eating that for 50 years. It sounds weird but it's awesome.
#6 Jack on 2018-12-18 22:57 (Reply)
Easier hors d'oeuvre:
Half a hard boiled egg, dollop of your favorite mayo on top, half an anchovy on top of mayo. Our go to New Year’s Eve snack.
#6.1 Eva Marie on 2023-12-21 07:08 (Reply)
PS.

We use the canned ones.

And they suck on pizza. lol
#7 Jack on 2018-12-18 22:58 (Reply)
"The Catholics are very clever with their concept of fasting."

Indeed we are.
#8 JJM on 2023-12-20 15:38 (Reply)
My wife's family fight over struff, especially hers. When they are tender with right honey mixture they are pretty good.
#9 Don on 2023-12-20 18:30 (Reply)
Here's the recipe.
Dead link. Not likely the following will soon become a dead link:
DuckDuckGo: Pasta con Sarde.
#10 Gringo on 2023-12-20 19:38 (Reply)
I know those tinned brown over-salted anchovies are no good but I like them anyway, even on pizza.
#11 jack walter on 2023-12-21 07:08 (Reply)
Wild Planet has the best canned Anchovies packed in Olive Oil, they are so good, I will eat them straight out of the can. I use them in my Putanesca sauce all the time. Looking forward to creating Pasta con Sarde. Thanks for the inspiration. I have always thought of getting salt packed anchovies as they are construed to be the best, but learning they have to be soaked and deboned just seemed too much and the reviews by most did not confirm it was a good as the aficionados claim. Anyway, Sicilian food rocks. Merry Christmas.
#12 A Follower on 2023-12-21 18:27 (Reply)

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