Anchovies are those that suffer from prognathism as opposed to Sardinian relatives who are congenitally affected by progeny (see “anchovy and buffalo mozzarella”).
And here they are! … with their beautiful protruding jaw … getting engaged with the sardines you could kiss jointly …

Before starting the preparation of this dish it is imperative a phone call to a farmer or, in any case, to a country friend because the wild fennel is not found in the city!
Because he? But since it is a frankly indispensable element for the good result.
In past times, fennel, like other wild herbs, such as chicory, chard or borage, were used as food in times of famine.
His Florentine colleague Dr. Giovanni Targioni Tozzetti who, at the end of the eighteenth century, in 1767 to be precise, published a text on spontaneous plants that could be collected to alleviate hunger … the “Alimurgia”.

Alimurgia “? … the term he invented it … it seems from three Greek terms: phyton = plant, alimos = which takes away hunger, ergon = work. How it came out of the food just I don’t know …
However, today they are sought after perhaps like then but, fortunately, not to cope with famine but for the taste of the palate!
The slightly “flat” aroma of sardines goes very well and is enhanced by the pungent and well-defined aroma of wild fennel.
From the latter, by selection and crossbreeding, fennel was obtained and his beard can be used instead. Today it has also been domesticated and can be found in seeds or seedlings, being careful not to … be fooled!

Well, let’s move on to the anchovies. Personally I buy a good amount of it because half of it pips me while I clean them … I always find a mental justification: it is a little small, it did not come off well from the bone … (what risk anisakis never comes to mind!) . However, in doing so, it passes more quickly …

… the boredom of cleaning!
At this point the game is almost done because you will make garlic, chilli and dill go into extra virgin olive oil …

… and the anchovies will dive. The wild fennel will soon follow because cooking will take a few minutes …

What’s missing? … hahaha … maybe spaghetti! For this preparation I have chosen you long, big and good ones! This is another variety of Senatore Cappelli pasta …

… it was already mentioned in the recipe “Il Senatore e la gallinella”. As already mentioned in that article, it was Nazareno Strampelli, in 1915, who selected the variety of wheat from a North African population in which the Romans had spread the cultivation 2000 years ago. This durum wheat variety, whose characteristic is to be genetically uncontaminated, was then dedicated to Senator Raffaele Cappelli, esteemed president of the Italian Farmers’ Society from 1896 to 1911, who dealt with the agrarian reform.

And here they are drained “al dente” in the seasoning. It does not need freezing but only mixing with the possible addition of small amounts of cooking water because this paste gives up little starch and has, therefore, a low tendency to dry out, on the contrary …

… we can put into practice a completely Sicilian and absolutely binding, elegant and captivating habit … breadcrumbs! …

Let’s make the dish? …

Well … I don’t think breaded anchovies will upset anyone … maybe the raw ones! But I suggest you try them. I don’t want to do the fashionable thing that eats them in front of friends in Capalbio and then runs to the bathroom to spit them out (at my grandfather’s house I ate sashimi in the 60s), but they are really nice and, like cherries, … one leads to another . Attention, however, to Anisakis! To avoid risks, the fish must be frozen for at least 4 days in a freezer at home that reaches -18 ° C (I suggest you to take it clean).
Well … with or without raw anchovies … Bon appetit! … indeed, as we say today in gourmet restaurants or pretended such, good tasting!