Pasta with Anchovies: Pasta con le Alice

Ingredients

• 1 pound dry bucatoni
• 2 heads fennel, thinly sliced
• 2 medium sweet white onions, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 15 large anchovy fillets (in oil), 4 finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon saffron threads, soaked in 2 tablespoons warm water
• 2 tablespoons currants
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley and mint

Directions

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the bucatoni.

Separately, in a large saute pan, sweat the fennel and onions in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, cover and cook until almost translucent. When the pasta is almost ready (2 minutes from being cooked), mix in the chopped anchovies to the onion mixture. Cook until fish is warm, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the saffron, currants, pine nuts, sugar, and salt and pepper. Add the remaining anchovies and garnish with chopped parsley and mint.

Strain the pasta and stir in remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil. Stir in fennel-anchovy mixture. Season with salt and pepper.