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Sardines can be prepared at home at a very low cost and you can add your preferred ingredients. Economic and healthy. Cost: £3 for 4 sardines (250g, £12/kg) on 18/02/2010.
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| 4 fresh sardines (gutted and scaled) |
1. Take 4 fresh sardines, gutted, scaled and dried. The sardines photographed had an a weight of 50g per sardine. You can also use smaller sardines.
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| Cook them quickly in oilve oil |
2. Cook them quickly in olive oil, one side, then the other. The oil should reach 1/2 the fish.
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| Ingredients for the marinade |
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| Cooking the marinade |
3. Add in the pot an equal quantity of fresh olive oil, 1/5 of volume of vinegar (I prefer smooth home-made red wine vinegar, so add 1/10 of water if you use strong commercial vinegar ) and your preferred spices (I put laurel leaves, pimientos, fresh parsley and two crush garlic cloves). Bring to boil and let simmer for 10 minutes. Let it cool.
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| Put the sardines in a pot |
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| Cover with the marinade |
5. Put the sardines in a pot, cover the sardines with the marinade and let infuse for 3 days in a cool place or in the fridge.
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| The marinated sardines |
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| Sardines on the plate |
6. After a few days, the sardines acquire the taste of your preferred spices. The oil has a wonderful taste and you can use it as a "spread" on a wholemeal toast.
Note: In the UK, sardine is the name for the young "Sardina pilchardus". The adults are called pilchards and have a maximum length of 25cm. This is not so in America where the term sardine is applied to sardines (for example, Sardinops sagax, the Pacific sardine) as well as to other members of the herring family - such as sprats/brisling, when canned.
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| An alternative... |
Good canned commercial alternatives exist but you will not be able to choose and mix your preferred spices... (Net weight: 115g)
Environment: Sardines/Pilchards/Iwashi are listed as "Best Choice" by on "Seafood Watch", the Sustainable Seafood Guide of the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
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