Sardines in Saor

This is a classic Italian dish, using fresh sardines, that has its origins in Medieval days. It's well loved in both Venice and Torino, with some regional variations—and of course, personal touches by the individual cook. It’s quick and easy, once your fish are cleaned and dressed, and it’s perfect when you need an appetizer that can made a day in advance. In fact, it’s better that way!

Sardines in Saor is made by dredging the butterflied fish in flour, quickly frying them, layering them with spiced sweet-&-sour onions—often with raisins and pine nuts, and allowing them to marinate for 24 hours before serving. It's served cold, usually as an appetizer.

Once I learned about this dish I was eager to try it. But...fresh sardines were nowhere to be found where I live. Undaunted, I went for the twist—I replaced the sardines with small rainbow trout and served half a fish to each person at the table. It was fabulous. I’ve since made it both ways—with sardines and with trout. There are times when I want to follow a recipe precisely, and I’ll run to three different stores to find everything I need. Then there are those other times when I’m missing an ingredient and I just roll with it, using what I have. If you look at the picture, you’ll see pistachios. The recipe calls for pine nuts, not pistachios. But I was out of pine nuts and I had pistachios. So there you have it. It was good with trout and it was good with pistachios. But the fish in the photo are genuine, freshly fried sardines.

Most Americans, when they hear the word sardines, initially think of a flat tin stuffed with tiny fish in olive oil. While I am a fan of tinned sardines, particularly on buttered black bread, fresh sardines are quite different. Those tiny fish are eaten whole. The even tinier bones in the tiny fish are imperceptible. The fresh ones—mine measured around 4 inches long once the heads were removed—do need to be gutted and deboned. It’s not difficult, nor is it a time intensive project, but there is a certain yuck factor. Your fishmonger may be willing to do this for you. I tend to do it myself, because they’re less expensive that way.

Do bear in mind that if you’re one of those people who don’t like “fishy fish,” you may want to make this recipe with the milder flavored brook trout.

I think it’s delicious either way, but personally, I lean towards the original version, with sardines.

Because the dish is made well in advance and served cold, it's perfect for Shabbat, or for anytime you're making a multi-course dinner. It also makes a very nice light lunch, served with some crusty bread and a green salad.

Sardines in Saor

Ingredients:

• 1⁄2 cup white wine

•  1⁄4 cup raisins

• 1⁄4 cup pine nuts

• 2 pounds sardines, cleaned

• lightly salted all-purpose flour, for dredging

• neutral oil, such as avocado or sunflower, for frying

• good, fruity extra virgin olive oil as needed

• 2 large white onions, thinly sliced

• 1 cup white wine vinegar

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

• 4 bay leaves (fresh, if possible)

• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, crushed with the side of a heavy chef's knife

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method:

• In a small bowl, submerge the raisins in the white wine and let them soak while you continue to prepare the dish.

• Put the pine nuts in a small dry skillet. Over medium heat, agitate the pan back and forth to lightly toast the nuts. This will take about a minute. Don't let them burn or they'll go from fabulous to bitter. As soon as they're done, remove them from the pan so that they stop cooking.

• Butterfly the sardines, removing the heads, the innards, and the bones. Dredge them in lightly salted flour.

• Pour a generous amount of neutral oil to a large skillet. Add a nice glug of extra virgin olive oil for flavor, and heat oil to about 375°. You'll know the oil is ready when little bubbles form around a wooden chopstick stuck into the oil. Add the floured sardines and fry them until browned, then turn them and fry them on the other side. When they're done, set them to drain on paper towels.

• Wipe out the skillet. Pour a small glug of olive oil into the skillet. Add the onions with a little splash of water, around ¼ cup. Bring it to a boil, cover it, and steam the onions over a low light for 3-5 minutes, until they’re very soft. Then remove the cover and cook, stirring, until all the water is cooked out. Don’t walk away! As soon as the water is gone, the onions will start to brown, and you don’t want that to happen for this dish.

• To the steamed onions, add the vinegar, the sugar, the bay leaves, the cinnamon, the coriander, a sprinkling of kosher salt, and a few grinds of the pepper mill. Cook over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes.

• Add the raisins and their soaking wine to the pan and cook for another five minutes. Then, remove the bay leaves.

• Place a single layer of sardines in a flat dish. Spoon some of the onion/raisin mixture over them and sprinkle them with some pine nuts. Top with another layer of sardines and another layer of onion/raisins/pine nuts. Keep going until you've used up all the ingredients. Pour any remaining liquid evenly over the top layer.

• Cover the dish tightly and refrigerate for 24 hours. Serve cold, or at room temperature.

Note: If sardines aren't available, you can substitute small rainbow trout (serving 1/2 butterflied fish per diner) or other small, thin-fleshed fish. It will be different, but also delicious.