Sardine Pasta with Chilli, Lemon and Capers
The tin is the recipe.
There are pasta dishes that hide their ingredients behind technique. This is not one of them. Sardine pasta with chilli, lemon and capers is built on five or six things, and the sardine carries most of it — which means it's also one of the most rewarding ways to open a good tin.
A well-made conserva — packed in quality olive oil, cured to balance rather than overpower — brings a depth to this dish that no amount of seasoning can replicate. The oil in the tin becomes part of the sauce. The sardine holds its shape in the pan, then gives way into the pasta in the right places.
This is the version worth making.
Serves 2 · 20 minutes
Ingredients
- 200g spaghetti or linguine
- 1 tin of sardines in olive oil (120g drained weight)
- 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 red chilli, finely chopped (or ½ tsp dried chilli flakes)
- 1½ tbsp capers, roughly chopped
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon
- Small handful of flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and black pepper
Method
Bring a large pan of well-salted water to the boil and cook the pasta until al dente. Reserve a generous cup of pasta water before draining.
While the pasta cooks, warm two tablespoons of olive oil in a wide pan over a medium-low heat. Add the garlic and chilli and cook gently for two to three minutes — you want them soft and fragrant, not coloured.
Add the capers and stir through. Open your tin of sardines and add them to the pan along with a tablespoon or two of the oil from the tin. Use a fork to break them into large flakes — not too fine; you want pieces, not paste. Keep the heat low.
Add the drained pasta directly to the pan along with a good splash of pasta water. Toss everything together, adding more pasta water as needed to bring it to a loose, glossy consistency. Add the lemon zest and a squeeze of lemon juice, then taste. Adjust for salt, chilli and acidity.
Remove from the heat, scatter over the parsley and finish with a drizzle of your best olive oil. Black pepper, generously.
Eat immediately.
A note on the sardine
The oil in the tin becomes part of the sauce, so it earns its place — a sardine packed in good olive oil brings a richness and complexity that carries through every mouthful.
For this recipe we'd reach for something firm enough to hold its shape in the pan but refined enough to melt into the pasta where it matters. Two we return to: José Gourmet Sardines, which are delicate and clean with a long finish, and Sardinha, which brings a more pronounced, briny depth — excellent if you want the sardine to really announce itself. Both work beautifully here; the choice depends on how boldly you want the fish to come through.
Browse our sardines collection →
The rest of the tin
One of the quiet pleasures of tinned fish cookery is that there's no waste. If your tin yields more than you need, the remainder keeps well under olive oil in a small jar in the fridge for two to three days — good on toast, good on a board, good eaten directly with a fork over the sink at midnight. No judgement.