Baked sardines
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation: 25 min
- Cooking: 8 min
- Doses for: 2 people
- Cost: Low
Presentation
Of all the resources that the Earth offers us, the sea is certainly the largest, an imposing expanse of water that gives the Earth the nickname of “blue planet”. A priceless asset that gives us suggestive colors, intense emotions, and why not, also a great variety of fish. Lobsters, shrimp, grouper boast all noble meat, but we must also not forget the poor fish, lean meats, and by a great versatility in the kitchen as mackerel, sardinella, skipjack … and sardines.
Today we propose you to taste these bluefish, famous for giving life to a delicious dish such as pasta with sardines, in a delicious second course: baked sardines, a simple but characterful dish. Enrich the baked sardines with breadcrumbs, parsley, and pine nuts … you will get a recipe in which the flavors of the sea are expertly combined with the Mediterranean ones for a tasty result suitable for any occasion, you just have to choose yours! And if you are a lover of this bluefish, don’t miss the opportunity to prepare tasty focaccia that sees them as protagonists: the Sanremese sardenaira.
INGREDIENTS FOR 1 PAN OF 15X19 CM
- Sardines 18 sardines for a total of about 250 g
- Breadcrumbs60 g
- Extra virgin olive oil60 g
- 1 sprig parsley
- Thyme 1 sprig
- 1 clove garlic
- Grated Grana Padano PDO 20 g
- Pine nuts30 g
- Extra virgin olive oil to grease the pan 15 g
Method 2: How to Prepare Baked Sardines
To prepare the sardines in the oven, start cleaning the fish (you can use disposable kitchen gloves): remove the head under running water and always with your hands, gently widening the opening between the head and the belly, removing the entrails. Then by opening the sardines like a book you will be able to extract the central bone as well, gently pulling towards the tail.
Once all the sardines are cleaned, take care of preparing the bread: pour the breadcrumbs and grated cheese into a bowl and the crushed clove of garlic.
Rinse, dry, and finely chop the parsley; then add it to the breading too8 and further flavored with thyme leaves;
Pour in the 60 g of oil and mix everything until the mixture is uniform.
At this point take a baking dish measuring 19×15 cm and sprinkle it with about 15 g of oil. Arrange the sardines horizontally without overlapping them, salty (not excessively), peppery and cover with half of the previously prepared mixture.
Arrange another layer of sardines, taking care to position them vertically (opposite to before), salt, pepper, and cover with the rest of the breading the entire surface.
Finish by decorating the surface with pine nuts. Then cook the sardines in the oven in grill mode at 200 ° for 8 minutes, until they are golden brown. Once cooked, serve the baked sardines while still hot.
Storage
Keep the sardines in the oven for a maximum of 1 day in the refrigerator!
Freezing is not recommended.
Advice
Add the grated rind of a lemon to the breadcrumbs or use the crumbled stale crumb instead of breadcrumbs!
