30 mins

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Olive oil

5 cloves of garlic

1 teaspoon chilli flakes

8 anchovies

1 tablespoon tomato purée

2 x 400g tins of cherry tomatoes

80g capers

140g pitted Kalamata olives

½ tablespoon sugar

2 tins of quality sardines in oil

400g pasta such as spaghetti or linguine

A bunch of fresh parsley

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1. Finely chop the garlic and fry in a pan in the oil from the sardines along with the chilli flakes and the anchovies. Cook gently for a few minutes, smushing the anchovies with a wooden spoon until they melt and infuse into the oil.

2. Add the tomato purée and cook out for a minute before pouring in the tinned tomatoes. Rinse the tins with a splash of water and add this tomatoey water to the pan. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sauce has thickened.

3. Meanwhile, cook the pasta. Make sure to properly season your pasta water and cook the pasta until al dente. Bring the sauce back up to heat just before it’s done. Reserve a mugful of the pasta cooking water before you strain it off.

4. Once the sauce has thickened, drain the capers and olives and rinse under a tap. Shake dry, then add to the sauce. Mix well and continue cooking for a few minutes so they become one with the sauce; taste to check your seasoning, only adding salt carefully as many of the ingredients are quite salty. Add the sugar to balance out the acidity.

5. Drain off the sardines, then add to the pan and gently break them apart – I don’t like to smash them up too much. Turn the heat off.

6. Toss the pasta directly in the sauce, with a splash of reserved pasta water to make it glossy. Finish with finely chopped parsley, mix again and serve with a drizzle of really good olive oil.