Pasta de Sardine

On weeknights when both Matt and I get home late from work, I turn to this super easy pasta to make for dinner. I came up with this recipe after I saw a can of Moroccan sardines in chili oil at my new favorite grocery store, North Park Produce. You can make this in about 15 minutes and the taste is not so fishy as you may think. I was quite surprised that both of us ate up the entire dish!

INGREDIENTS

• 8 ounces dry fettuccine pasta
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 (3.75 ounce) can sardines in chili oil, drained (reserve 1 teaspoon chili oil)
• 1 cup jarred marinara sauce
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta, and cook for about 8 minutes, or until almost tender.

While the pasta is cooking, heat olive oil plus reserved chili oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook for 4 minutes until soft, then add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 60 seconds. Stir in the marinara sauce and bring to a simmer. Then stir in the sardines, red pepper flakes and reduce heat to low, and simmer until the pasta is ready.

When the pasta is almost done, drain, and add it to the sardine sauce. Stir, cover, and turn the heat off. Let stand for a few minutes to absorb the flavors of the sauce. Squeeze juice from the lemon over the pasta and the parsley and mix to combine. Divide onto serving plates, and top with grated Parmesan cheese.