Sicilian Pasta Salmon Sauce

This recipe was handed down from my husband's Sicilian grandmother to his mother and now to me. This is a wonderful recipe that is a favorite of the entire family. And it's easy, too. Not a 'traditional American' pasta sauce, but a real, honest to goodness Sicilian sauce. Don't leave out the saffron or pignoli!

• Preparation Time: 15 mins
• Cooking Time: 45 mins
• Total Time: 60 mins
• Calories: 540 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon tomato paste
• 1 pinch saffron
• ¼ cup raisins, or to taste
• 1 (2 ounce) can anchovy fillets, undrained, or to taste
• 1 (7.5 ounce) can salmon, undrained, or more to taste
• ½ (7.5 ounce) can water
• ¼ cup pine nuts, or to taste
• 1 (16 ounce) package spaghettini

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Pour about 2 teaspoons oil from anchovy can into a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir onion in the hot anchovy oil until softened, about 5 minutes. Add anchovy fillets; cook and stir until fish dissolves, about 5 minutes.

Step 2

Stir tomato paste into onion-anchovy mixture; add juice from canned salmon, water, pine nuts, raisins, salt, and black pepper. Cook and stir mixture until flavors have blended, about 15 minutes.

Step 3

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook spaghettini in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until cooked through but firm to the bite, about 12 minutes. Drain.

Step 4

Mix salmon and saffron into onion-anchovy mixture; cook until salmon is heated through, about 15 more minutes. Serve salmon sauce over spaghettini.