Fresh sardines are worth the wait. I know this now. I often eat them on toast out of a can and have patiently been awaiting their arrival at the fishmongers. What a perfect opportunity to inaugurate something new in honor of something old! Namely my new Wüsthof Grand Prix Fillet Knife and an incredibly old recipe of stuffed sardines from Sicily by Anna Tasca Lanza that will bring fellow fish lovers to their knees. Sardines are an incredibly oily fish with delicate and tender meat and fine bones. To handle it you need gloves (I kid you not or you'll end up smelling like a sardine for a week) and a knife that was pliant, a narrow blade that cuts thinly and finely trims through skin and fine bones. So you see my German knife is just the tool. Forged from a single piece of sturdy high-carbon steel, here is a knife that is perfect balance of an extra thin blade that flexes, incredibly sharp and yet provides just the perfect balance with it's heavy bolster. Am I bragging? Indeed. It also serves a dual purpose capable of boning both poultry and filleting fish. You bet it's going to heavily used come the holidays when duck, goose and turkey are on the menu. Till then, it's my new best friend when it comes to fish.
Needless to say, if you're in the market for an excellent boning/fillet knife, look no further than the Wüsthof Grand Prix II 7" Fillet Knife.
Back to our the star of this dish - Sardines happen to be incredibly healthy and their value primarily lies in their high omega-3 fatty acid content, which offers a remarkable number of disease-preventive and overall health-promoting effects.
I will say this, you'll love these if you are strong fish lover and adore anchovies and the lot. Not so much if you dislike strong fishy smells which may be thoroughly unpalatable to some. In this home however, with my new knife in tow, sardines are now the hot button item on the menu with their benefits far outweighing the drawbacks.
Not to mention, when they're stuffed with a wonderful mixture of fresh breadcrumbs, raisins, pine nuts and parsley and grilled to perfection with lovely orange and lemon slices, you'll bear all minor inconveniences stoically, just for a bite of such a spectacular end result.
Gather the ingredients,
8 whole fresh sardines, scaled, cleaned, heads removed & butterflied, 1 small onion, 3 cloves garlic, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/2 cup bread crumbs - freshly made in the food processor from day old baguette, 1/4 cup dried golden raisins, 1/4 cup pine nuts, ½ cup finely chopped fresh parsley, Juice of 1 lemon, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp ground black pepper, 1 lemon, 1 orange & 12 fresh bay leaves.
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Prepare the sardines:
Using a very sharp fillet knife, clean one sardine at a time:
- Cut off the head and fins; remove any scales.
- Split the fish open along the belly and remove the viscera.
- Run your finger inside the fish the length of the backbone.
- The fish should open flat like a book.
- Lift up and remove the backbone, cutting it off at the tail.
- Repeat with the remaining sardines.
- Arrange the sardines on a flat platter or baking sheet. Sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt & 1/4 tsp pepper.
OR follow this handy video that shows how to clean sardines using a pair of small kitchen shears:
Once all the sardines have been cleaned, prepare the other ingredients:
- Raisins: Soak in hot water for 5 minutes and drain.
- Onion: Peel, discard ends and finely chop
- Garlic: Peel and finely chop
- Parsley: Separate leaves from the stalk and finely chop
- Breadcrumbs: Place large chunks of day old baguette in the food processor and process to fine crumbs. Use as much as needed in the recipe. Freeze the remaining in a zip loc bag till further use.
- Lemon and orange: Halve and slice in thin slices.
- In a saute pan, add 1 tbs olive oil. Heat till hot and add the onion and garlic. Sauté for 2 to 3 minutes on medium-high heat till softened. Stir in the bread crumbs and cook for about 2 minutes till slightly brown on the edges and emnates a lovely toasted scent.
- Stir in the raisins, pine nuts, parsley, salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and stir the lemon juice into the filling mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and mix well. Taste and adjust seasonings. Let it cool.
- Oil an 8-inch-square baking dish liberally with olive oil using a pastry brush .
- Fill each sardine with about 1½ tbs filling. Roll each fish, going from the head to the tail. Place the sardines with their tails sticking up, all in the same direction and close together, in the baking dish.
- Place the slices of lemon and orange and the bay leaves decoratively around the dish, at the sides or in between the sardines. Drizzle with olive oil.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the fish is flaky & tender. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Delicious in every way, you'll hit all taste cylinders with the sweetness from the raisins, tangy from the lemon, fresh flavors from the orange and parsley all enveloped in delicate and flaky fish.
Recipe for Sarde a beccafico - Sicilian Style Stuffed Sardines from Palermo Recipe by Anna Tasca Lanza
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking & Baking time: 30 minutes
Serves 4, Makes 8
Shopping list
1 small onion, very finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup bread crumbs - freshly made in the food processor from day old baguette
1/4 cup dried golden raisins, soaked in water for 5 minutes & drained
1/4 cup pine nuts
½ cup finely chopped parsley
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
8 whole fresh sardines, scaled, cleaned, heads removed, butterflied
½ lemon, very thinly sliced
½ orange, very thinly sliced
12 fresh bay leaves
Method:
Arrange the sardines on a flat platter or baking sheet, skin side down. Sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt & 1/4 tsp pepper.
In a saute pan, add 1 tbs olive oil. Heat till hot and add the onion and garlic. Sauté for 2 to 3 minutes on medium-high heat till softened. Stir in the bread crumbs and cook for about 2 minutes till slightly brown on the edges and emnates a lovely toasted scent.
Stir in the raisins, pine nuts, parsley, salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and stir the lemon juice into the filling mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and mix well. Taste and adjust seasonings. Let cool.
Oil an 8-inch-square baking dish liberally with olive oil using a patry brush .
Fill each sardine with about 1½ tbs filling. Roll each fish, going from the head to the tail. Place the sardines with their tails sticking up, all in the same direction and close together, in the baking dish.
Place the slices of lemon and orange and the bay leaves decoratively around the dish, at the sides or in between the sardines. Drizzle with olive oil
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the fish is flaky & tender. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Enjoy!
