Sardines anyone??

Ahhh Moogie. I love those tiny lightly smoked two layer sardines packed in olive oil. I can eat them just with some lemon squeezed on and some sicilian olives and fresh crusty bread. But don't fret--there are some nice things to do with sardines.

This one may sound like heresy but there is a delicious Sicilian pasta dish probably with Arabic roots since it is
an unusual combination.
I say heresy because it uses fresh sardines and I don't think if you were living by the ocean in Italy that you would do that. We all can't be that fortunate.
But this is convenient as well as delicious.

By the way-- Don't be afraid of using the anchovies in tomato sauce. Once they are broken up they will dissolve and you will never taste them. The tomato sauce will just taste richer and have much more depth.
Susie
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This is from SFGate
Pasta con le Sarde

Serves 4

Pasta with sardines just sounds better in Italian. This is a quick version of a classic Sicilian dish that usually calls for fresh sardines. This dish is best hot out of the pan.

3/4 pound bucatini or perciatelli pasta (use linguine or spaghetti if unavailable)

Salt to taste

1/4 cup golden or black raisins

1/4 cup olive oil

1 onion, finely diced

1 1/2 cups finely chopped fennel bulb and fronds, plus fennel fronds saved for garnish

1/4 cup tomato paste

Around 4 ounces canned sardines in olive oil, drained (see Note)

2 anchovy fillets

Pinch saffron dissolved in 2 tablespoons hot pasta water

1/3 cup pine nuts

Quality extra virgin olive oil to drizzle

Instructions: Bring a pot of well-salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package directions.

If the raisins are dry, soak in 1/4 cup water, then drain before adding to the sauce.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large saute pan and add the onions and fennel. Saute until tender and translucent, 10 minutes.

Add the tomato paste and 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Stir together until the tomato paste dissolves, then add the sardines and the raisins. Cook, breaking apart the fish, until the sauce is uniform, 2-3 minutes. Move the sauce aside and make room in the center of the pan to cook the anchovy fillets, which will dissolve quickly in the heat. Incorporate into the sauce, then stir in the saffron water. Add more pasta water if you need to thin the sauce, and season to taste with salt.

If you have time in between all these steps, place the pine nuts in a small saute pan and toast over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes, then add to the sauce. Otherwise, add the nuts raw to the sauce.

When the pasta is done, drain it and stir it into the sauce with a pinch of salt. Serve immediately in shallow bowls garnished with fennel fronds and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Note: Our Taster's Choice panel recently found King Oscar Tiny Tots (at Safeway) the best canned sardines. Second place went Crown Prince Skinless & Boneless Sardines (at Whole Foods).

Found the bread crumb one. Can't get any easier.
Top one is from Mario and seems pretty unique.
The bottom one is the easy one I mentioned from Rachael Ray.
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Canned Sardine Fritters: Fritelle Sarde
Recipe courtesy Mario Batali
2 cans good-quality oil-packed sardines, chopped
2 large eggs
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 bunch parsley leaves, finely chopped plus extra, for garnish
1 to 2 tablespoons chopped pepperonchini
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
1 tablespoon grated caciocavallo cheese
Extra-virgin olive oil, to fill a deep pot no more than halfway
Freshly ground black pepper
Lemon halves

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the canned sardines, eggs, garlic, parsley, pepperonchini, bread crumbs and cheese. Using a wooden spoon stir lightly, not to mash mixture. Set fish mixture aside.

Fill a deep pot no more than halfway full with the olive oil. Heat over a medium flame until the temperature reaches 350 degrees F. The oil should remain at or around this temperature throughout the frying process. Using a spoon, make fritters into semi-balls. When the oil reaches temperature, gently drop the fish balls into the hot oil. Be careful not to splatter the oil. Fry each fritter to a golden brown, about 2 minutes. Carefully remove the cooked fritters with a slotted spoon and reserve on a serving dish. Repeat until all of the fish mixture has been used. These fritters are best served hot with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.


Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
User Rating: 5 Stars
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Episode#: MB2F03
Copyright © 2006 Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved

Sicilian-Style Sardine Pasta with Bread Crumbs
Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
8 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
1/2 cups flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Coarse salt and coarse black pepper
2 tins sardines, 4 ounces each, drained, boned and chopped
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 pound linguini, fresh or dried, your choice, cooked to al dente in salted water

To a large skillet preheated over medium heat, add 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 4 turns of the pan, and chopped garlic. When the garlic speaks by sizzling in oil add bread crumbs. Stir bread crumbs until deeply golden in color. Add parsley and a liberal amount of salt and pepper, about 1 teaspoon of each. Transfer bread crumbs to a dish and reserve.

Return skillet to heat and add 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 3 turns of the pan. Add sardines and red pepper flakes to the pan and saute over medium heat 2 or 3 minutes. Add hot, cooked pasta to the skillet and toss with sardines. Add bread crumbs to the pot and toss thoroughly to combine and evenly distribute the mixture. Taste, to adjust seasonings, and serve.


Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 7 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
User Rating: 4 Stars

Episode#: TM1D06
Copyright © 2006 Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved

When I was a kid growing up in Wales, I loved sardines on toast for breakfast, I havn't eaten sardines in years!!

Thanks for the memories, I am going to get a tin of them today

Enjoy, Tina

I too luv sardines much to my families disgust, so have found this way of doing them that they find tolerable.
Potato Bake with Sardines and Bacon
8 medium potatoes, thinly sliced
1 onion, thinly sliced
250g bacon,diced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
110g can sardines in spring water
2 eggs, lightly beaten
300ml cream (low fat)
1 cup low fat milk
1 clove crushed garlic
100gram reduced fat grated cheese
Layer a quarter of the potato, onion, bacon and thyme. Repeat then add sardines, then 2 layers of potato etc.
Whisk eggs, cream milk and garlic, pour over layers, sprinkle with cheese.
Cover dish with lid or foil.
Bake 45 minutes, uncover and bake another 15 minutes.

It sounds good but I'm afraid I'd have to use prosciutto.

Can't help it I'm too much of a bacon purist. I comes from being bacon deprived.

My friends used to dread going out to breakfast with me in college; Because it would take me forever
to eat 6 slices of bacon-----no toast, no eggs, not even potatoes-----Just a plate full of bacon and coffee. Then I'd proceed to surgically dissect it for an hour and a half with a knife and fork.

They'd never seen anyone use a knife and fork on Bacon---but what did I know of bacon etiquette?

Yep my bacon has to be pure.

When I have spaghetti Carbonara I tell my mind since- its Pancetta and not cured; its not real bacon so, I can make
allowances.

Yep I'd have to do the recipe with prosciutto.

Susie

Yep 4:00 AM snack today--Sardines and Sicilian olives.
Lucky for me my cats and dogs don't like sardines so I
didn't have to share today.

No hot sauce though. Thats reserved for cheese grits and fried salmon cakes. Do I hear another breakfast calling? Where is the cornbread?

I love sardines but too hide them a bit....Saute greens, add tomato sauce, sardines and put on pasta. I think it's pretty yummy (I've been using brown rice pasta and its not bad).
Laurie

Oh, terrific
great recipes!! Tks

I too would like to start eating MORE
SARDINES..

the pasta and potato ones appeal to me
they all look good though
Might do the Potato one ahead of time
then have my salad.. like the idea of the fennell and radish

One thing .. Susie:
Pasta I use is usually spelt
or Rice pasta.. not the whole wheat
or the really nice tasty kind.. as in
egg noodles etc. guess it does not matter

what about olives??
Are they not quite fattening?

I will start off again with them on toast



Not sure which brand of ours is the Best
Millionaires perhaps.. in water




))))

I put a bit of onion on mine as well

Hmmm...got me thinking...I have sardines in my cupboard and I think I'll have a toasted sardine sandwich. When I was pregnant with my first child.... several decades ago...I devoured toasted sardine sandwiches. I'd mash the sardines with diced onion and mayo and have mayo on the toast. Believe it or not... I haven't had sardines since. Guess it's time.
cheers ( hi5 from chat)

Quote:

---

Oh, terrific
great recipes!! Tks

I too would like to start eating MORE
SARDINES..

the pasta and potato ones appeal to me
they all look good though
Might do the Potato one ahead of time
then have my salad.. like the idea of the fennell and radish

One thing .. Susie:
Pasta I use is usually spelt
or Rice pasta.. not the whole wheat
or the really nice tasty kind.. as in
egg noodles etc. guess it does not matter

what about olives??
Are they not quite fattening?

I will start off again with them on toast



Not sure which brand of ours is the Best
Millionaires perhaps.. in water




))))

I put a bit of onion on mine as well

---

Sierra,
As far as pasta goes---Have you tried Dreamfields Pasta?
I ordered it from amazon tonight to try.

It's supposed to taste identical to regular pasta but much
lower on the glycemic index and much lower in carbs than
regular as well.

We have a cook in the states named Jim Coleman who lost a massive amount of weight (completely unrecognizable)-who says this about it.

"By the way, for recipes that require a milder sauce treatment, I have found a traditional "durum semolina" pasta (not whole-wheat) that not only tastes good, it has a 65 percent lower glycemic index than regular pasta and only 5 grams of digestible carbs per serving (all of which I have to watch in my diet).

It's sold under the brand name Dreamfields, and I think most stores carry it. I am sharing a couple of recipes that will work for whole-wheat or regular pasta that you could serve to any crowd. I'll bet the people who told you they don't like whole-wheat pasta will ask for seconds. *"

Sounded like it was worth trying--

Susie

MY RECIPE, FOR QUICK AND EAST SARDINE PATE.. I THROW EVERYTHING IN MY MINI CUISINART.AND PRESTO- DONE!. OR YOU COULD MASH WITH FORK..
USE KING OSCAR BRAND..THE BEST, PACKED IN FISH OIL.$$$ BUT WORTH IT..
INGREDIENTS:

2-3 SPRING ONIONS
1 GARLIC CLOVE
1-TSP DIJON MUSTARD (TO TASTE)
1-TSP HORSERADISH (TO TASTE)
2-3 SPRIGS OF PARSLEY
1-CAN KING OSCAR SARDINES (OIL AND ALL)
1-TSP OF BALSAMIC VINIGAR
1- SMALL SHOT OF LIQUID SMOKE (OPTIONAL)

GRIND UP THE ONIONS AND PARSLEY FIRST,
THEN THROW EVERY THING ELSE IN, AND PULSE UNTIL YOU
HAVE A PATE.
SUBSTITUTE:
HOT SAUCE ( IF U DON'T LIKE HORSERADISH)

I SPREAD THE MIXTURE ON LITTLE RYE TOASTS, FLAX CRACKERS,STUFF CELERY WITH IT..OR WRAP IN IT LETTUCE FOR A LETTUCE WRAP.. I ALWAYS MAKE A DOUBLE BATCH...I EAT THIS AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK.

YOU CAN USE ANOTHER CHEAPER BRAND, BUT DOES NOT TASTE THE SAME. KING OSCAR'S ARE MILDER AND SLIGHTLY SMOKEY. I AM TRYING TO GET TRADER JOE'S TO LOWER THE PRICE. $2.99 PER CAN.