AI-generated image
Sarde in saor
Sweet-sour marinated sardines
Venetian fried sardines layered with sweet-sour onions, raisins and pine nuts
Sarde in saor began as food for Venetian sailors, since the vinegar kept the fish for days, and it is still the dish of the Festa del Redentore in July, when families eat it on boats under the fireworks. Floured, fried sardines are layered with onions stewed slowly in oil and vinegar, plump raisins and toasted pine nuts, then left to marinate in the fridge for a day so the flavours soften and mingle. The result is sweet, sharp and rich all at once. Serve it cool as a starter or in the cicchetti bars' way, on slices of grilled polenta. Chef's tip: make it at least a day ahead; eaten the same day the vinegar is harsh, but after 24 hours it mellows beautifully.
- Total time
- 70 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the sardines
- 1 ¾ lb fresh sardinesscaled, gutted and butterflied, heads removed
- 2 ⅛ oz plain flour
- ¾ cup sunflower oilfor shallow frying
- 1 tsp salt
For the saor
- 4 white onionsthinly sliced
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¾ cup white wine vinegar
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 ⅜ oz raisinssoaked in warm water for 15 minutes
- 1 oz pine nuts
- ½ tsp black peppercorns
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (1)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Put 4 white onions and ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil in a wide pan over a low heat with a pinch of the ¼ tsp salt. Cook gently, stirring often, until very soft and translucent but not browned, about 25 minutes.
25 minStep 2: Add ¾ cup white wine vinegar, 1 tsp sugar, 2 bay leaves and ½ tsp black peppercorns, raise the heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes until the sharp smell softens. Take off the heat.
5 minStep 4: Rinse the sardines, pat them very dry, season with the rest of the ¾ tsp salt and dust them lightly in 2 ⅛ oz plain flour, shaking off the excess.
Step 5: Heat ¾ cup sunflower oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat. Fry 1 ¾ lb fresh sardines in batches for 1–2 minutes on each side until golden and the flesh is opaque and flakes easily. Don't crowd the pan: that is the usual reason the coating goes soggy and falls off.
10 minStep 6: Drain the sardines on kitchen paper and let them cool for a few minutes.
5 minStep 7: In a dish, layer the sardines with the onion mixture, raisins and pine nuts, ending with onions and pouring over all the vinegar liquid.
Step 8: Cover the dish and marinate in the fridge for at least 24 hours and up to 3 days. Take it out 30 minutes before serving so the oil softens.
30 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 520 kcal
- Protein
- 36 g
- Carbs
- 30 g
- Fat
- 28 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does sarde in saor take?
- About 70 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of white onions?
- 2 shallots per onion.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Boiled pasta
The basic method for any dried pasta, from penne to spaghetti. A large pan of salted boiling water keeps the pasta from sticking, and you cook it only until just done, with a little bite left. Use it in salads, bakes or with any sauce.
Moreton Bay bugsSlipper lobster with garlic butter
Moreton Bay bugs are the flat, shovel-nosed slipper lobsters caught off the Queensland coast around Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast, and for Queenslanders they are a summer treat, split and grilled at the beach house. The tail meat is sweet and rich, somewhere between lobster and prawn. Buy them raw, frozen or fresh, from a fishmonger and ask them to halve them if you like. A common mistake is overcooking, which makes the meat rubbery; it is ready the moment it turns white. Chef's tip: grill flesh side down first to mark it, then turn and baste in the shell.
Australian
All i pebreEel and potato paprika stew
In El Palmar and the other villages around the Albufera lagoon south of Valencia, the restaurants that are famous for paella serve something older first: all i pebre, "garlic and pepper", a brick-red stew of lagoon eel and potatoes thickened with a pounded almond and fried-bread picada. It is rich, garlicky and gently hot, eaten with bread to mop up the sauce. Ask your fishmonger to skin and cut the eel, and handle it with gloves: raw eel blood is irritating, though harmless once cooked. If you can't find eel, monkfish or hake works well. A common mistake is letting the paprika burn; it turns bitter in seconds, so add it off the heat. Chef's tip: break the potatoes with a knife instead of cutting cleanly; the rough edges release starch and thicken the sauce.
Spanish