Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Sardine Pasta With Shrimps



Sardines are actually healthy. These oily fish are rich in omega 3 fatty acids, which can help in maintaining cholesterol level and in having a healthy heart. Recent studies even suggest that omega-3 fatty acids slow the progression of mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. Sardines are also a good source of protein, Vitamin D, calcium, and Vitamin B.

Sardines are said to be extremely low in contaminates such as mercury. But this has yet to be confirmed.

In the Philippines however, sardines, particularly canned sardines, are always associated with being a poor man's food. Probably because of these fishes' abundance in our waters, they are being sold relatively cheaply, in cans. Canned sardines is often considered a basic food item, like rice, and bread, that even the government has to track its price from time to time. Canned sardines in tomato sauce or in oil is a versatile food item to have in the pantry. It can be eaten straight from the can. Or simply sauteed with onions, or made into soup with misua, or into an omelette with mung bean sprouts.

Recently though, there are "gourmet" sardines (and milkfish) that are coming out in the market. Of course, these are priced exorbitantly. These gourmet sardines often comes in glass bottles, cooked Spanish style in herb-infused Olive oil, thereby justifying their exorbitant price. Being a self-proclaimed foodie, of course, I just have to try and taste these gourmet sardines, even once. :)

Being one not to waste even the oil that comes in the bottle, I decided to use these sardines, olive oil and all in a pasta.


350 gms linguini pasta, prepared and cooked according to package directions

1 bottle (225gms) Spanish Style Sardines in Tomato and Olive Oil

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

3 pcs bell peppers, chopped

3 pcs finger chillies or jalapeno peppers, sliced (or more if you prefer it spicier)

5 large tomatoes, chopped

a handful of basil leaves, snipped

1/4 C sliced black olives

1/2 C Olive oil

1 T salt (or to taste) and pepper to taste


250 gms shelled shrimps

3 T olive oil

3 slices ginger

5 T minced garlic

3 pcs sliced jalapeno peppers or finger chillies (siling haba)


1. Heat up the 3 T olive oil in a wok or a large cooking pan. Saute the ginger until fragrant. Add in the garlic and the jalapeno peppers.

2. Add in the shrimps and saute until pink and cooked. Set aside.

3. In the same cooking pan, pour in all the contents of the bottled sardines. Mash all the sardines meat.

4. Heat up the pan, and add in the garlic, onions. Saute everything until bubbly. Add in the tomatoes. Let cook for a while until tomatoes are soft and some juices come out.

5. Add in the finger chillies, bell peppers and the basil. Add in the sliced olives and olive oil as well. Add in salt and pepper. Turn off heat

6. Add in the pasta into the pan. Mix to coat all the noodles well.

7. Ladle into individual serving plates and top with the cooked shrimps.





It turned out to be quite a flavorful pasta dish. Daughter said she prefers this kind of sauce over our regular meat sauce. We shared this with our Tuesday Bible Study group last week and they declared it to be the best "sosi" (the word is slang for high-end) pasta they have tasted.


Sharing this dish with the Presto Pasta Nights community, headed by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast. This week's host is Judith of Think On It. To see last week's delicious pasta dishes, please click here.

16 comments:

  1. This looks delicious! Fresh sardines are kind of hard to come by here, but the preserved sardines should be relatively easy.

    I never thought of canned sardines (not the fancy ones) as being so versatile. My dad used to eat them with crackers when us girls were out of the house, but he never did much with them.

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  2. Sardines are in abundance in Greece and are also considered to be food for the poor as they are very cheap. I rarely buy canned ones and prefer the fresh sardines. Those giant shrimps though cost a fortune, even the frozen ones and always buy much smaller size but I can imagine what a lovely pasta dish you have made.

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  3. I absolutely adore canned sardines! XD Never mind that they are poor man's food, as long as they taste great. It's a great idea to toss them in pasta :)

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  4. Thanks Fearless Kitchen! Yes, canned sardines are versatile. Maybe I should do a post on a variety pf ways we use sardines! Thanks for the idea!

    Hello Ivy! The pasta is actually made flavorful by the mashed sardines. The shrimps are added because all of us loves shrimps! :) I suppose we are blessed to have abundant seafood here, so shrimps are not that expensive.

    Yes, Noobcook, sardines are yummy. That's why we use them in a variety of ways. :)

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  5. I wish I had a plate of that right now. Looks tasty!

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  6. I never heard of sardine pasta. I think this is fabulous and those shrimp put it over the top. Wow!

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  7. I did tuna pasta not long ago.

    Your pasta is loaded with ingredients!

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  8. I love sardines, and we have an abundance of them here, your pasta looks great! :)

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  9. I came adter this post, because pasta con sarde is really an important Italian dish. You can hide, but you cannot escape PPN!

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  10. Hello Nate-n-Annie! Wish I can serve you this dish now! :)

    Thanks Lori-Lynn!

    Hello Tigerfish! That's why it is flavorful! :)

    Thanks Tastes of Home! Maybe you should try this pasta since you have lots of sardines available! :)

    Hi Judith! Am always looking forward to PPN! Hubby and kids love pasta, so we always have it regularly! :)

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  11. What a fantastic dish. Too bad I'll have to wait until my hubby is not around for dinner.

    Thanks for sharing with Presto Pasta Nights.

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  12. This sounds fabulous...and looks it too:)

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  13. My daughter and I tried your recipe today and we loved it! I ate it as a stew and she had it over pasta. It is delicious and unique in light of all of the ingredients. Thank you for sharing this recipe!

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  14. Hello, i need that you explain me more about this topic because i cannot understand it very well, i think that is like be reading about Invertir en oro

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  15. Sounds great, thanks but I guess I'm gonna pas this one, I don't like shrimps but I guess I could try some soup with your ingredients, thanks

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