Tasty sardines for lunch

Having caught my attention in a supermarket, these 3 small sardines were only $2.08! They were frozen, no problem and whole, a bit of a problem. Being somewhat of an expert now at gutting fish, (in my head), I decided to tackle them for lunch today. The gutting was inevitably messy but miles easier than a whole Sockeye salmon, I'd even go so far as to say their guts seemed 'cute' compared to those large monsters! Even though the guts came out fairly easily, the sheer amount of bones left in were enough for me to know that eating them would be a case of constantly picking them out of my mouth. I was right. They were pretty tasty though. They have a meaty, oily texture that really does taste like the sea, salty and fresh and the Prosciutto adds an extra salty, sweet dimension.

Every year we have a 'car-free' day in various neighbourhoods in the city and one of the biggest has a Portuguese restaurant that sells sardines on the street during that day. The line up stretches right down the street and last year I waited 30 minutes for two whole sardines barbecued right in front of my eyes. Smoky, meaty and with a crisp skin they were the highlight of the day.

We should all eat more sardines according to those many fish sustainability charts we see and believe me, it's almost impossible to find fish that isn't sustainable for sale in ultra Eco-friendly Vancouver, having blue-fin tuna on your sushi menu is akin to murder, literally.

If you look closely you can see the scales shining iridescently, they are the biggest pain to remove and getting one stuck in your throat isn't really an option.

  
Gutted and scaled, badly.

Recipe: Sardines wrapped in smoked Prosciutto

A very simple little recipe

First, open a window and crank up your extractor to maximum!

3 sardines, gutted, scaled and back bone removed (or fillets)

salt, pepper

3 tsp butter

lemon juice

1 tsp capers

3 tbsp mixed finely chopped herbs (oregano, dill, parsley, rosemary etc. whatever you have or like)

3 pieces of Prosciutto, smoked or regular or parma ham or even bacon

Get your grill (broiler) hot and prepare the sardines.

Lay the sardines skin side down so they lie flat and salt and pepper generously.

Place 1/3 of the herbs and capers onto the flesh of each sardine and top with 1 tsp butter each.

Fold the sardines closed like a book and wrap a piece of Prosciutto round each piece.

Grill for about 5 minutes either side until the flesh is cooked and the Prosciutto crisp.

You will be picking bones out of your mouth but it's all part of the fun, right?