Sardine and Tomato Pasta Bolognese

Sardine pasta with a nod to a rich Bolognese sauce made with red wine, sun-dried and fresh tomatoes and my favourite cheaper canned fish.

All told this delicious and fairly frugal recipe cooks in around 35-40 minutes making it a relative rocket ship for a ragu-style sauce!

Tinned Sardine Ragu with Rigatoni

This dish is born of something I saw on TV years ago, it was a mackerel bolognese on the Great British Menu, I seem to recall.

I’ve been meaning to play around with a similar idea using canned sardines for the longest time. This is the result and I love the canned sardine pasta ragu or Bolognese if you like.

It joins other “unusual” ragu style recipes on my site, like duck ragu, rabbit ragu, wild boar ragu, quick spicy chicken pasta ragu and a haggis bolognese style ragu.

Unlike those dishes, which all take long slow cooking, this recipe cooks in a shade over 30 minutes.

It is also relatively frugal, obviously, wine is not a cheap ingredient and sun-dried tomatoes also add a cost.

But the savings made by using canned sardines mean that splashing out on a bit of extra flavour hurts a little less.

And what flavour it is, this thing is big bold and meaty. But it contains no meat, it’s a perfect change up for pasta!

Definitely a dish for like-minded fans of all things fish and seafood.

If you want a seafood pasta dish that is a little quicker and lighter check out my crab linguini with samphire or classic spaghetti alle vongole!

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use other types of fish?

I think the best alternative fish to use would be canned mackerel. I would avoid tuna and salmon personally speaking.

Can I use canned fish in water rather than oil?

Yes, if reducing “fat” is important to you, you can make this switch, both the texture and flavour will change but it will still be tasty.

Can I use different types of pasta?

Definitely, I usually make this with rigatoni, short tubes (mezzi rigatoni) in the pictures and regular stuff in the video. But everything from pappardelle to spaghetti would work well.

Can I make this in advance?

Yes, the ragu will sit in the fridge perfectly well for 3-4 days and can be heated gently in a pan with a lid.

I would not freeze this personally.

Serving Suggestions

This is a simple bowl of sardine pasta and all it needs is some garlic bread and you are good to go.

That does not mean that I have no more suggestions for you!

The ragu on its own is simply stunning spread on toast.

Just throw some ciabatta bread on a griddle and drizzle with oil and then spread the warm sardine ragu on with a spoon. I’m not sure that I would get out of the kitchen before emptying the pan.

You can even use it to stuff arancini!

It is also particularly good spooned over a wet polenta porridge, it does need to be a bit wetter though so take care not to cook it down as much. If you go too far bring it back with a bit of fish stock and off you go.

Equipment Used

I only recommend specific brands of equipment if I believe they make a material difference to a recipe. If you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.

• Stovetop.
• Small 15cm or 6″ saucepan.
• 28cm or 11″ skillet or frying pan.
• Sharp kitchen knife.
• Chopping board.
• Weighing scales and or measuring cups and spoons.

Sardine Pasta Step-by-Step Photos

1. Heat a small sauce pan over a high heat, pour in the red wine and reduce it to around 100mls.
   
2. Heat a frying pan over medium heat and add some oil from the sun-dried tomatoes and sardines, then add the shallots and celery and cook for 5 minutes.
   
3. Add the garlic and cook for a minute.
   
4. Throw in the fresh tomatoes, salt and sun-dried tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes.
   
5. Add the reduced wine and the sardines, mash the sardines with a fork, and cook on low until the pasta is ready.
   
6. Cook the pasta as per the instructions, and reserve some of the pasta water, to loosen the sauce a little.
   
7. Add the cooked pasta to the sardine ragu, and add a little pasta water until it reaches a nice consistency. Serve immediately.