Sarde Ripiene. Stuffed Sardines.

After our morning family field trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, we were all striken with our usual desire to eat seafood. I know that's counterintuitive. For a facility dedicated to the education and preservation of ocean creatures, we always walk out of there craving seafood. Oh, well. At least Riley was armed with his Seafood Watch card and rattled off the "best choices" while we were at the fish counter at the end of Wharf No. 2. Click here to see the Seafood Pocket Guide for the West Coast.

So, we walked out of the market with eight freshly caught Pacific sardines, scallops, and halibut. We decided to have the sardines for dinner tonight. While trying to decide what to do with them, I came across a recipe for Sarde Ripiene. Stuffed Sardines.

But first I had to clean them. What a chore!

Hold the fish under cold running water and rub off the scales with your thumbnail. By hand, snap off the head and pull down; most of the innards will come out with the head. Use a small paring knife to slit the belly down to the tail. Remove any remaining innards and rinse the interior.

Once cleaned you will need to butterfly the sardines for this recipe. Remove the backbone from each sardine by grasping the end of the backbone closer to the head and lifting it out. It usually pulls away cleanly from the flesh, although sometimes it clings. If it does cling, gently work the backbone free with your fingers, damaging the flesh as little as possible. Keep the tail intact.

Sprinkle the sardines on both sides with salt. Spread about a tablespoon or so of filling on each half butterflied. Fold in half. Top with tomato sauce, drizzle with olive oil.

Filling:
1/2 C hazelnut flour
1 egg
2 T minced garlic
1/2 t grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Bake until the fish are sizzling hot and the flesh is white and flakes easily when prodded with a fork, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes before serving.

The dish is best warm, not hot. Divide the sardines among serving plates, drizzle each portion with a little extra virgin olive oil, and accompany with lemon wedges.

Comments

A Cheese Board Anchored on a Trio of Italian Cheeses + A Pinot Nero from Alto Adige #ItalianFWT on CulinaryCam.Com

I am in the process of migrating over to my new domain. Come on over to read " A Cheese Board Anchored on a Trio of Italian Cheeses + A Pinot Nero from Alto Adige " for December's #ItalianFWT.

Connecticut Lobster Rolls, Canned Lobster Bisque, and a 2019 Henry Fessy 'Maître Bonhome' Viré-Clessé #Winophiles

This month the French Winophiles group is looking at affordable wines from Burgundy. Host Cindy of Grape Experiences wrote: "Burgundy, or Bourgogne, is known for its wines of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir... as well as Aligote, Gamay, Sauvignon, César, Pinot Beurot, Sacy, Melon in lesser quantities. Many of the well-known wines are quite expensive, but there are plenty of values to be found." Read her invitation here. And there won't be a Twitter chat for this event, so you will have to dive into the articles themselves to read about our pairings and findings. Here's the line-up... Wendy Klik from A Day in the Life on the Farm enjoys Domaine Chevillon Chezeaux Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Nuits, 2018 Paired with a Maple Pecan Chicken . Camilla Mann from Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares her love of Connecticut Lobster Rolls, Canned Lobster Bisque, and a 2019 Henry Fessy 'Maître Bonhome' Viré-Clessé. Jeff Burrows of FoodWineClick! explains why we should Look t...

You're Invited: Take a (Virtual) Hawaiian Holiday with #FoodNFlix

Fall Break, Oahu, October 2017 For June, I am hosting Food'N'Flix , the movie-watching, food-making group rallied by Heather of All Roads Lead to the Kitchen . This week, my older son was supposed to graduate from high school and we were supposed to leave on a family vacation to the Big Island. But, as enter our eleventh week of being sheltered in place to flatten the curve of the coronavirus, all of our summer plans were canceled, including this long-planned graduation trip to Hawaii. Boo. I understand the need to self-isolate. And we are abiding by the social distancing guidelines put in place by our state. But, boo, nonetheless. Oahu, October 2017 So for this month's Food'N'Flix, I chose to open up the field and let all of the food bloggers take a (virtual) Hawaiian holiday. My boys have been to Oahu several times with my parents in recent years as my dad grew up there and wanted to spend some time on the island with his grandsons. Ke...

Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Search This Blog