Pronunciation:  ZEE-tee

Ziti are medium-size pasta tubes. A classic pasta  from southern Italy, served at Sicilian weddings. The may be ridged; and may be long or cut in approximately 2-inch lengths. These come either as long, hollow rods or as short tubes, called "cut ziti".  They're often baked in a casserole. Use with ragù and meat and vegetable sauces. Cooking time 10 min.

 

The Recipe:

Pasta con le Sarde
(preparation time: 40 minutes)

Ingredients for 4 people:
20 ounces Ziti
14 ounces fresh sardines
wild fennel to taste
1 ounce raisin
1 ounce pine nuts
4 salted anchovies
a pinch saffron
1 onion
6 spoonfuls extra-virgin olive oil 
salt to taste
pepper to taste


Preparation:
Clean the sardines removing their heads and bones and wash the fillets thoroughly. Choose the more tender raisins pieces and soak them in warm water. Then boil them in plenty of water for 10 minutes. Remove them from the pot with a ladle with holes and keep the water boiling for the pasta later. Drain the fennel, chop them up and put them aside. Put 2 spoonfuls of oil into a small pan and heat it. Add the chopped anchovies and stir with a wooden spoon until they have melted.
Dice the onion, season it with a little salt and sauté it in a pan with 4 spoonfuls of oil. Then add the saffron, the raisins well drained and the pine nuts. Mix well and then add the sardine fillets and brown them well on both sides. Add the diced fennel, season with salt and pepper. Cover the pan and finish cooking. Add the anchovies to the sardines and mix together, be careflul not to break the sardine fillets.
Put the pot with the fennel water on the fire and boil the Ziti in it, removing when still al dente. Drain the pasta and season it with the sardines and the obtained sauce. Mix well and serve.
 

 

Match Wine:  Bianco di Alcamo