Sweet & Sour Sardines – “Sarde in saor”
I always gets culinary inspired by meals and dishes experienced on my holidays. I love making a note of flavour combinations that bowl me over or send me delirious-happy-crazy. My recent trip to Venice was no exception and one of my most memorable dishes was a delicate antipasti starter – Sweet and sour Sardines – “Sarde in Saor”. A recipe that goes back as far as the 1500s apparently. I researched on how to throw this classic Venetian dish together and below is my TTI version. It’s a a delicious dish that can be eaten as soon as it’s been made but it’s advisable to let it rest overnight for a maximum flavour sensation!
[ingredients title=”Ingredients”]
- 200g Sardines, cleaned and filleted
- 40g Plain flour
- Salt
- Pepper
- Oive oil
- 2 white onions, finely sliced
- 1 bay leaf
- 50g pine nuts, toasted
- 50g raisins, soaked in warm water for 30 minutes
- 120ml white wine vinegar
- 120ml white wine
[/ingredients]
- Coat sardines in flour
- Shallow fry in olive oil
- Remove from pan
- Soften onions with bay leaf
- Add white wine vinegar and wine
- Add toasted pine nuts and raisins
- Layer onions and sardines in dish
[directions title=”Directions”]
- First, prepare the sardines. On a dinner plate, season the flour with salt and pepper. Coat the filleted sardines with flour.
- In a frying pan, shallow fry the sardines in olive oil.
- When browned on both sides, remove and place on kitchen towel to soak up the oil. Leave to one side
- Next prepare the onions. In a deep frying pan, drizzle olive oil, add the finely sliced onions and a bay leaf. Cook the onions on a low heat for at least 20 minutes until they soften. Don’t allow them to brown.
- Then, add the white wine vinegar, turn up the heat slightly and cook for 5-10 minutes. Then do exactly the same with the white wine.
- Add the soaked raisins and toasted pine nuts to the onions and finally cook for a further 5 minutes.
- In a dish, layer the onions and the sardines and allow to sit in the fridge over night to allow the flavours to intensify.
- Serve with toasted bread or grilled polenta
[/directions]
The Comments
10 Seafood Recipes from Foodies100 Bloggers | Foodies 100
[…] The Tiny Italian- Sweet and Sour Sardines […]