Sardine Recipes

Okay, I've got the message. Sardines are healthy, sustainable and cheap. They help grow both the muscles, the bones, and the brain. My mother loves them. Give her a fork and a can and she's pretty happy. But why would I stop at helping her repair the damage to her bones when I am responsible for two growing girls who are just getting started. I need a variety of palatable recipes to introduce them to this frequently maligned food. It can't just taste okay. I want it to be good enough that they keep eating it even when they see it made fun of in cartoons (yes Looney Tunes, I'm looking at you) and popular culture.  I see some intriguing possibilities online, but most of those involve bread, which is toxic to my mother. A lot of the other recipes include tomatoes, which are toxic to my sister. I've got a few things I'm going to try, but does anyone have suggestions that they really liked using sardines for?

First contender, and worth reading for the comedy that accompanies the recipe (if you have a low form of humor) http://www.tinyfarmhouse.com/2009/11/the-sardines-have-it/ Experience teaches me, I can replace the tomatoes with sauteed ripe bell peppers and just have less sauce.  

Bonus recipe for mutant rooster in the last paragraph.

If your mind there can have rice you can make a tempura batter and deep fry them (or just lightly flour them in rice flour prior to frying), that is my favorite way to eat them (in fact I don't like them any other way).

For her, as far as we can tell it's a gluten sensitivity. I would never have thought of rice flour for a batter. I'll look into getting some to try, not just for sardines. I wonder if it could be made to work as an alternative to wheat flour in some of the fish cake recipes, also.

What about Fisherman's Eggs?  I haven't tried it but it sounds delicious to me - saute onions and garlic, add sardines, add eggs on top.

I think sardines would be good mixed into fritters (especially broccoli fritters) though again I haven't tried that.  Maybe I will now...

I will eat sardines on top of most any veg....roasted, steamed, sautéed. But I REALLY enjoy them mixed into a really good salad. Just make whatever salad you like (I like a dressing of olive oil, lime/lemon juice, and smashed avocado mixed and tossed with the salad) and make sure that the sardines are mixed thoroughly through the salad. You get the flavor of the sardines, but it is not overpowering.

Casie Becker wrote:For her, as far as we can tell it's a gluten sensitivity. I would never have thought of rice flour for a batter. I'll look into getting some to try, not just for sardines. I wonder if it could be made to work as an alternative to wheat flour in some of the fish cake recipes, also.

You definitely can - otherwise you can use garbanzo flour (like the batter used for onion bajis).

I just finished eating a sandwich made with dark wheat bread, sharp cheddar and smoked sardines grilled in grassfed butter. I think it was a great blend of salty, buttery, crunchy and just the slightest bed of tang. I think the flavor combination we've liked the most is the cheddar/sardine one, although pickled vegetables are also great.

We have a strong culture conditioning to dislike sardines. I'm thinking its all related to avoiding strong flavored foods that might offend some palates. I went through the same process with leafy greens that weren't iceberg lettuce drenched in dressing. It is possible to retrain the brain to enjoy foods with strong flavors.

I was thinking this morning, as I grated fresh tumeric to use in my potatoes, that this forum makes me braver in tackling unfamiliar foods. There are lots of resources online for how to use new foods in special recipes. There are far fewer places where you can find the other people who struggled in how to introduce completely foreign foods into their day to day lives. More than just recipes it's finding, processing, and storing new foods. It's how to grow it and how to fit it into our current diets. Sometimes its things like warnings about how to avoid flatulence, which few recipes ever address. If I screw up, I don't feel like I'm the only one; and I have less screw ups because I have access to such good advice.

Thank you everyone for being here with your experiences. I'm not prepared to tackle it yet, but my next challenge will be liver.

Something as simple as sardines and rice can be a delightful meal. I don't have an easy way of obtaining fresh sardines so my options tend to be canned. Sardines in olive oil added to hot rice is delightful. You can kick it up by cooking up some onions and other toppings to add.

I'm still a sucker for just cracking open a can and dipping some sourdough to enjoy.

Sardines on toast were one of our favourite suppers when we were growing up - doesn't fit the no bread requirement of the OP but so quick and tasty: I also only have access to tinned sardines and tend to take out the backbone, although it probably isn't necessary as the bones are so soft. Mash the sardines with a little vinegar, tomato puree and salt and pepper, spread them on toast, grate a little mature cheddar on top and grill them** under the grill a little longer till cheese is bubbling.


**In the UK we cook a lot of things from the top only and I call this 'the grill' I don't think it is the same thing as a US grill?

I really love smoked kippered herring as a possible alternative to sardines.

Note Sardines come skinless and boneless in a can, marinating in olive oil and herbs.  In addition to putting the meaty pieces on top of a salad, I enjoy sardines best on top of quinoa cooked in chicken broth and sauteed mixed chopped veggies ie onions, zucchini, yellow squash, celery, mushrooms, and a clove of garlic topped with crumbled goat cheese.  If it tastes dry, I pour over all of it a little olive oil and lemon juice dressing.

i grew up with a mother who HATED sardines (probably from having to eat them as a staple as a kid) and so never ate one til I was like 40 years old. Imagine finding out that I love them plain, but even more when they're packed in tomato sauce.
I love putting them on dandelion greens from my garden and some balsamic vinegar for a quick, no-effort lunch. Plus they're great for you and way more sustainable than any other fish I can get around here.

I wonder if sardines would be a candidate for becoming a pizza topping?

Sardine salad sandwiches.  Just make Sardine salad just like you would Tuna salad, with mayo, mustard, salt and pepper.  Then spread it onto you favorate bread just like you would Tuna salad.

Hi Timothy,

I recall seeing a sardine pizza in a cookbook somewhere.