Pasta alla Milanese - a family recipe

("Milan" style pasta)

This is possibly the dish that represents my Sicilian nonna most accurately. Every time I start making it, as soon as the unique fragrant aroma of garlic, oil and anchovies soffritto hits my nostrils, I can see my grandmother right in front of me, at the stove in her kitchen wearing one of her flowery summer dresses.

It’s a staple pasta of western Sicily, a type of everyday pasta that you can put together when you have nothing fancy at home and in the fridge. By saying “nothing in the fridge”, I am also suggesting that there’s probably no Sicilian home that has no garlic, olive oil, tinned tomatoes, anchovies, currants (passulina in Sicilian), pine nuts and some old bread at any given day!

My Nonno and Nonna

There seems to be a lot of debate on the origin and the very peculiar name of this dish. Pasta alla Milanese (a’ milanisa in Sicilian) would imply this dish came from Milan or that it’s Milan style, but that’s really out of the question. Nothing even vaguely similar exists in the Milan region, and a dish that combines anchovies, pine nuts and currants in a tomato sauce is very specifically Sicilian in flavour profile.

There are theories that Sicilian immigrants created this recipe in Milan in the early 20th century. They were missing fresh sardines to make the great classic Pasta con le sarde (pasta with sardines), so they came up with this simpler version made with salted canned sardines instead. On their return to Sicily they became known as the “Milanesi” and the pasta took their name. This theory is quite unlikely, like most legends around Italian food, but somehow it resonates deeply with me, as an emigrant who often can’t find the right ingredients for dishes!
Another theory digs back to the time when the Normans invaded Sicily in the 14th century. The Normans were apparently called “Milanesi” (even though they came from much further north in Europe!), and it is said that they introduced the salt conservation of sardines to Sicily. This one seems even less likely as very few dishes in Italian cuisine can date as far back as that…

Whichever theory you want to believe, this combination of anchovies, pine nuts and currants is definitely related to the more popular “Pasta con le sarde”; it might sound like a strange flavour profile to many, but it is very normal in the Trapani and Palermo areas and it re-appears in many recipes. It creates a unique agrodolce (the Italian word for sweet and sour). It is actually a very well balanced sauce, in which the sweetness of the currants is counter-balanced by the umami saltiness of anchovies and the acidity of the tomatoes.

Finally you won’t find any grated cheese on this pasta. As a general rule Italians don’t like to use cheese on pastas that have a fish component. In this case Sicilians use breadcrumbs lightly toasted in oil. This breadcrumb mixture is delicious, adds a crunch to the dish, and helps soak up all the liquid of the tomato sauce. It is traditionally served separately in a bowl (like cheese would be) and added by each guest on their plate. Toasted stale breadcrumbs were also massively used on pasta when money was scarce; they replaced the more expensive pecorino grated cheese. If you are lucky enough to be in an area where wild fennel grows, you should finish this pasta some of those very flavourful green parts (like in the classic pasta con le sarde). 

Serves 2

15 gr (1.5 tbsp) currants (Zante currants)
30 gr (5 tbsp) breadcrumbs
10 gr (1 tbsp) pine nuts
2 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
1 Garlic clove, peeled, whole 
4-5 filets of tinned anchovies 
200 gr (7 oz) of tomato passata
200 gr (7 oz) spaghetti

1. Soak currants in warm water for 15 minutes, drain and set aside.

2. Toast the breadcrumbs with a tsp of oil in a skillet or non stick pan on medium-low heat. Stir often until golden brown. Set aside.

3. Toast pine nuts in a skillet or non stick pan on medium-low heat until they start releasing their oils and are golden brown. Set aside.

4. Add 2 tbsp of olive oil to a pan, place on low heat and add the whole garlic clove.  Cook on low heat for a couple of minutes until golden (don’t burn the garlic!), then add the anchovy filets and dissolve them with a wooden spoon into the oil.
   Add the passata, pine nuts and currants. Season to taste and cook on a gentle simmer until the sauce has reached a nice thick consistency (approx 15 minutes). Remove the garlic clove.

5. Meanwhile cook the pasta in boiling salted water, drain it when it has reached your preferred consistency, and save some of the cooking water.

6. Add the drained pasta to the pan with the tomato sauce and stir while on low heat to incorporate the sauce. If the sauce is too thick, add a little bit of the reserved pasta cooking water and stir it in.

7. Plate the pasta and sprinkle toasted breadcrumbs on top.

Buon Appetito