Bucatini With Sardines

Preparation:

Preparation: Clean the fennel, remove the tough leaves, wash them well and boil them in a saucepan with plenty of salted water for about 10 minutes, then drain, squeeze and chop them. Keep the cooking water to cook the pasta. Clean the sardines, open them like a book, remove the entrails, the central spine and the head, then wash and dry them well. Pour a large glass of oil into a saucepan, fry the chopped onion, when it is golden, add half of the sardines and the anchovies and mix well. During cooking, pound the fish with a wooden spoon until it is reduced to a pulp. Sprinkle with a spoonful of breadcrumbs, first toasted in the oven, lightly salt and pepper to taste. Add the coarsely chopped pine nuts and the raisins previously soaked in warm water. Mix well, add the fennel, let it take on the flavors for a few seconds, then turn off the heat and keep the sauce warm. Fry the sardines kept separately in a pan with a little oil, turning them gently so as not to break them. Salt lightly and keep warm. Bring the fennel cooking water to the boil, cook the bucatini, drain them al dente and season with a few spoonfuls of sauce. In a baking dish, make a layer of pasta, arrange the fried sardines, then more sauce, then another layer of pasta; cover with the remaining sauce, seal with aluminum foil and place in a hot oven at 180 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, remove the foil and serve immediately.