It was a mildly warm evening with a most welcome sea breeze so we decided to eat out. “Just something light” we said. Jenny would have the pasta because surely that should be filling enough! We ended up at this little corner restaurant with no customers in sight. I am not sure what I can blame that on.
Anyway, there we are, and soon after Jenny has her whole face smeared in red from the pasta sauce which I must say was sweeter than I am used to; that’s a good thing. Passata and canned tomato vary in taste- so find a brand you like and can trust and stick with it to make a simple, quick, and delicious homemade tomato pasta sauce.
Back to our dinner, we first had pane panelle which was a good idea as sfincione isn’t heavy but carries a deeper flavor than panelle which is a mildly spiced chickpea fritter.
What I loved the most was the caciocavallo breadcrumb topping and dried oregano which just ‘brought everything home’. The bread was thin, slightly moist on the inside from the sauce but not soggy with a crunch on the bottom and edge. That said, making sfincione was undoubtedly the next thing I had to do once we left Sicily.
A sauce made from anchovy is not an easy sell. To say it’s used as a spread for a focaccia-like bread is also not something I gather many would be excited about. But this really is a sauce you should know how to make.
If you’re still here I am guessing sfincione carved a place in your heart. Or perhaps you’re curious. Well, you’re in luck- because you can prepare this sfincione sauce way in advance and store it in the fridge for 2 days or freeze it for later use. Now to answer a few questions you might have…
FAQ
I don’t have canned tomatoes, can I use passata instead?
What you choose (canned tomato/passata) to use will dictate how long you need to leave the sauce to thicken while simmering. Passata is thicker than canned sieved pureed tomatoes. So while using pureed tomatoes may take 15 minutes, passata may take roughly 10 minutes so keep an eye on the sauce and take it off the fire should it reach the required consistency before the 15 minutes are up.
What can I use my leftover anchovies on?
You could make some Spaghetti alla puttanesca
How much is made from this recipe?
This recipe yields 175g of sauce. Enough to cook spaghetti alla puttanesca for 2 adults or 1 sfincione.
What is the ‘required’ consistency?
It should be thick and lumpy.
In what recipes can I use sfincione sauce?
There are a few (others coming up) ways I could recommend you use your sauce. And one of those ways is to make:
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Sfincione
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Sfinione sauce
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Loading...Anchovies, tomato and finely diced onions reduce over a few spoons of olive oil until thick- that's sfincione sauce. Perfect for sfincione!!
Ingredients
- 6 Anchovies
- 230ml Passata/ (canned plum tomatoes without seeds)
- 25 ml Olive oil plus more for baking
- 37g (3 tbsp) Finely diced yellow (all purpose) onion
Instructions
Very finely chop the anchovies and onions
Puree the canned plum tomatoes if using and sieve out the seeds
Heat the olive oil and sauté the onions over medium high heat until translucent then toss in the anchovies to fry for 1 minute
Pour in the passata, add a pinch of oregano, salt and pepper to taste then stir. Now cover and leave to simmer, thickening over medium high heat for 15 minutes.
Stir every so often to avoid burning
When the 10 minutes are done or the sauce seems to have gotten a thick (lumpy looking) consistency take it off the fire and leave to completely cool
Store in a sterilised airtight container in the fridge and use within 3 days or in the freezer.
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