Ziti con la Sarde e la Cicoria

Ingredients

•     1 lb Casareccie

•     1 small red onion, thinly sliced

•     300 grams (a little more than 1/2 lb) cicoria or dandelion greens

•     1tbsp salted capers, rinsed

•     1 lb fresh sardines

•     2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

•     Salt to taste

Directions

1. Clean the sardines and remove the spines, if they don’t stay intact, that is ok, they will break up even more in the pan. Wash the greens thoroughly and tear them up into small pieces.

2. Fill a large pot with water for the pasta. Bring to a boil over high heat. Once the water starts to boil for the pasta add a small handful of salt to the water and bring to a rolling boil. Add the pasta and the cicoria and cook for the time indicated on the bag of pasta to cook it al dente.

3. In the meantime heat the oil in a wide saucepan over medium-high heat and add the onion. When the onion starts to sizzle add the capers and the sardines, cook over a low flame.

4. When the pasta is perfectly al dente, turn up the heat on the sauce and drain the pasta and the cicoria. Without shaking all of the water out of the colander pour the pasta and the cicoria into the pan and toss it with the sauce. This allows for the pasta to cook a little longer in the sauce and to absorb the flavor. Serve immediately.