How to Cook Sardine Beccafico
Serves: 6
Preparation time: 30 mins
Cooking time: 5 mins
Ingredients needed to make Sardine Beccafico:
For the sardines:
- 12-16 fresh bay leaves
- 6 medium sardines, filleted
For the stuffing:
- 4 anchovies
- 2 oz black olives
- ¾ oz almonds
- 1 ¼ oz pine nuts
- 1 ¼ oz raisins
- Juice and zest of 1 orange
- Juice and zest of lemon
- 2 oz capers
- ½ oz fresh parsley
- 3 oz white breadcrumbs, plus more for topping
Cooking instructions for Sardine Beccafico:
- Warm up your oven to 350 degrees F.
- To make the stuffing, dump all its ingredients into a food processor and whiz them until they blend thoroughly and turn somewhat firm in texture.
- Split the mixture into small portions and roll each of them into small balls.
- Place one ball at one edge of the sardine fillet and roll it around the ball.
- Introduce a cocktail stick through its middle to secure and insert a fresh bay leaf through the stick to garnish.
- Make rest of the stuffed sardines in a similar fashion and set aside.
- Grease the bottom of an oven-proof pan with few drops of olive oil and arrange the stuffed fish into the pan, spaced an inch apart and sprinkle an extra oz of breadcrumbs on top.
- Smother them with a good lug of olive oil and place in the hot oven to bake for 5 minutes or until the fish is cooked properly and the stuffing browns nicely.
- Arrange them onto a large serving platter and serve alongside fresh, light green salad.
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons
