Sardine Pasta with Spiced Tomato Sauce, Rocket and Parmesan

One tin, one pan, twenty minutes, and a plate that looks like you actually tried.

⌛ 20 minutes ✧ 🍽️ 2

🐟 Sardines in olive oil

Sardine Pasta with Spiced Tomato Sauce, Rocket and Parmesan

The sauce from the tin is the sauce for the pasta. That's the whole idea. Rich, spiced, and deeply savory — loosened with a little pasta water and tossed until every strand is coated. The sardines go on top, whole and proud. A handful of fresh rocket adds brightness, a shower of Parmesan pulls it all together. It's the kind of weeknight dinner that comes together from almost nothing and tastes like you planned it all along.

Ingredients

200g spaghetti or linguine
1 tin of sardines in spiced tomato sauce (approx. 120g)
2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
A large handful of fresh rocket
40g Parmesan, finely grated, plus shavings to serve
Salt and black pepper
Reserved pasta water

Instructions

Cook the pasta in generously salted boiling water until al dente. Reserve a full cup of pasta water before draining.
Warm the olive oil in a wide pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1–2 minutes until soft and fragrant.
Open the tin. Carefully lift out the sardines and set them aside. Pour the sauce from the tin into the pan and add a generous splash of pasta water. Stir to combine.
Add the drained pasta and toss well over the heat, adding more pasta water as needed until the sauce clings to every strand.
Twirl the pasta into a nest on each plate. Lay the sardines on top.
Scatter fresh rocket generously over the sardines and shower with grated Parmesan. Serve immediately.

Serving suggestion

Keep the sardines whole on top — they look beautiful that way and stay tender rather than breaking up into the sauce. A glass of chilled Vermentino or a young Grenache rosé is just right alongside the spiced tomato. Eat it straight from the plate while it's hot — this one doesn't wait.