Step 1

Cook the spaghetti in a large pan of boiling salted water for 10 mins or until al dente.

Step 2

Meanwhile, get on with the sauce. Put the oil in a pan big enough to also take the spaghetti later, and grate in the lemon zest. Warm over medium-low heat and, when it begins to sizzle gently, add the sliced salad onions and cook, stirring frequently, for 1-2 mins.

Step 3

Take the pan off the heat to stir in the garlic, salt, dried oregano and chilli flakes. Put the pan back over medium-low heat for another 30 secs.

Step 4

Scrape the sardines and every little bit of their sauce, plus 1 tsp of lemon juice, into the salad onion pan, stirring to break them up a little. They’ll disintegrate further once you toss the spaghetti with them later, so don’t be too brutal now; while a bit of mush is desirable, it’s good to keep some chunks of sardine too.

Step 5

Lower a cup into the spaghetti pan to remove some of the pasta water. Add 3 tbsp of the pasta water to the sardines; stir gently. Once the sardines are hot in the sauce, take the pan off the heat, by which time your spaghetti should be ready.

Step 6

Using tongs, add the pasta straight from the pan; the water that clings to the strands helps the sauce to coat the pasta. Toss gently but thoroughly and taste to see if you want more salt or lemon juice, adding more pasta water, 1 tbsp at a time, if it seems dry. Add most of the parsley and toss; divide between 2 small bowls; sprinkle the remaining parsley on top.