Pasta dish, so it won't be much use for month two, but my favorite thing to do with sardines is pasta con sarde.
Put six servings' worth of pasta (penne, farfalle-- anything big and chunky) on to boil. While it's cooking, thinly slice one big bulb of fennel and one onion (or a couple cloves of garlic, or two shallots. Saute them in the oil from your sardines (adding olive oil if you need to to prevent sticking) with a handful-- about 1/2 cup-- of dark or golden raisins or currants. You may also add 2-4 threads of saffron bloomed in water if money is no object; if it is, you can do without, or add a little turmeric for color. Saffron is nice in this dish but the other flavors are so strong that it's not at all necessary.
When the pasta's almost done, add your sardines to the fennel mixture-- 1 tin if you just want it mildly fishy, 2 tins if you want fishier, or 1 tin of sardines and one of tuna if you want more protein with less oil/milder flavor. Add first the zest, then the juice, of one lemon. Finally, drain your pasta (reserving a cup or so of its water) and add it to the pan, and toss to coat well in the sardine-fennel mixture. You can add back a little pasta water, a tablespoon at a time, to help the sauce stick.
Just before serving, grate a little bit of hard strong cheese, such as parmesan or peccorino, over the top. (If you need to avoid dairy, a handful of capers adds the same salty-umami note.) Save the wispy fronds from the top of the fennel bulb for a garnish; they're pretty and they also add a fresh, herbal note back to the dish.
Price per serving depends on the price of fennel, but it's a fall vegetable so in two months you should be able to find it pretty cheap.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2015-07-26 02:10 pm (UTC)Put six servings' worth of pasta (penne, farfalle-- anything big and chunky) on to boil. While it's cooking, thinly slice one big bulb of fennel and one onion (or a couple cloves of garlic, or two shallots. Saute them in the oil from your sardines (adding olive oil if you need to to prevent sticking) with a handful-- about 1/2 cup-- of dark or golden raisins or currants. You may also add 2-4 threads of saffron bloomed in water if money is no object; if it is, you can do without, or add a little turmeric for color. Saffron is nice in this dish but the other flavors are so strong that it's not at all necessary.
When the pasta's almost done, add your sardines to the fennel mixture-- 1 tin if you just want it mildly fishy, 2 tins if you want fishier, or 1 tin of sardines and one of tuna if you want more protein with less oil/milder flavor. Add first the zest, then the juice, of one lemon. Finally, drain your pasta (reserving a cup or so of its water) and add it to the pan, and toss to coat well in the sardine-fennel mixture. You can add back a little pasta water, a tablespoon at a time, to help the sauce stick.
Just before serving, grate a little bit of hard strong cheese, such as parmesan or peccorino, over the top. (If you need to avoid dairy, a handful of capers adds the same salty-umami note.) Save the wispy fronds from the top of the fennel bulb for a garnish; they're pretty and they also add a fresh, herbal note back to the dish.
Price per serving depends on the price of fennel, but it's a fall vegetable so in two months you should be able to find it pretty cheap.