Sweet and Sour Fried Sardines — Sarde in Saor Veneziane
The Venetian sailor's preparation of fried sardines layered with sweet-and-sour onions slow-cooked in white wine vinegar, then steeped overnight with raisins and pine nuts to soften the vinegar bite into mellow depth.
Italian
Categories
Nutrition per Serving
Ingredients
For 2 servings
Instructions
Prep
Slice 400g white onion very thin. Pat 440g sardine fillets dry. Mix salt and pepper together. Measure vinegar, water, sugar, raisins, pine nuts, bay leaves, and flour. Chop parsley.
Saute
Heat 6 tbsp olive oil over medium-low heat for 1 minute. Add onions, salt, and bay leaves; cook 18–20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft, sweet, and pale gold. Add vinegar, water, and sugar; raise to medium and simmer 5 minutes until glossy. Stir in raisins and pine nuts off heat.
Fry
Season sardine fillets with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour and shake off excess. Heat 120ml olive oil over medium-high until shimmering, about 1 minute. Fry sardines in two batches, 90 seconds per side, until golden and crisp-edged. Lift to paper towel.
Build
In a shallow dish, layer starting with a spoonful of saor onions, then fried sardines, then onions, repeating until all used. Finish with onions on top. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Remove 15 minutes before serving to reach room temperature.
Plate
Transfer saor to shallow bowls, scatter chopped parsley over top, and serve with crusty bread for soaking the sweet-sour onion liquor.
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