By David Cohen
This dish is so good you have to give it a chance, even if you’re sardine adverse -- you won’t even know they’re in there.
It comes together quickly so start by getting a ½-pound of pasta boiling in a pot of salted water. In a large pan, sauté a minced shallot and a couple of cloves of minced garlic in a generous pour of extra virgin olive oil. Once the shallots are translucent, add a few big shakes of chili flakes and the zest from half a lemon, leave on low heat.
When your pasta is ready, reserve 1 cup of the pasta water and then slide the noodles into a strainer. Next, drain the oil from a can of sardines and add the fish to the pan with the shallots and garlic. Break them up well with a rubber spatula and then stir them together with the rest of the mixture.
To finish, add the noodles to the pan along with the juice from half a lemon and a couple large handfuls of arugula. Toss well, adding as much of the reserved pasta water that you need to loosen things up. Top with some grated parmesan.
For 1 pound of pasta just double up on everything.