Sarde al forno alla Sarda
Baked sardines, Sardinia-style
Baked sardines, Sardinia-style is a tasty and easy-to-do main dish for your family menu. It's ideal for everyone who likes seafood included kids as sardine fillets with few fish bones are used. You'll need fresh sardines, red ripe tomatoes, garlic, basil, parsley and extra virgin olive oil.
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yeld for 2
- 500g (1.1 pounds) fresh sardines
- 150g (5 1/3 ounces) ripe but firm tomatoes
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 or 3 basil leaves
- Little bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1 little lemon
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper, if liked
- Time:
preparation: 40 minutes included the time to fillet fish
cooking: 30 minutes
total: 70 minutes - Difficulty:
easy recipe - Nutrition Facts (amount per serving):
Calories: 287 (kCal) 15 % GDA (*) - 1199 (kJ)
Protein: 37.2 (g) 75 % GDA
Total fat: 13.0 (g) 19 % GDA
Total carbohydrate: 5.6 (g) 3 % GDA
Sugars: 5.6 (g) 7 % GDA
Baked sardine recipe according to the Sardinian style
Preparation
- - Fillet the sardines. Remove their head.
Pull out their stomach content, scale and bone them. - - Wash them quickly under cold running water.
Pat dry the fillets with kitchen paper. Put them aside. - - Clean, wash and chop the parsley, garlic and basil.
- - Squeeze the lemon.
- - Peel the tomatoes, remove their seeds and chop their flesh.
- - Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F).
- - In a bowl put the olive oil, lemon juice, chopped herbs and tomatoes.
Season to taste with salt and stir. - - Line a baking pan with oven paper.
- - Arrange the sardine fillets in a single layer.
Spoon the tomato sauce on the top.
Cooking
- - Bake for about half an hour.
If you see any cooking juice left in the last minutes, increase the temperature and bake for other 5 minutes.
Just before serving
- - Remove the baking pan from the oven.
- - Nothing more is necessary.
Your dish is ready! - - Serve this sardine recipe at once, when still hot.
You can transfer the sardines in individual dishes or bring to the table directly in the pan.
Tips and menu planning
- - For a quicker recipe: buy sardine fillets, use canned chopped tomatoes and dried parsley and basil.
- - If you don't want to chop the garlic you can prepare the tomato sauce in advance adding the garlic clove whole. Stir very well and put apart in a cool place. Remove the garlic before the use.
We don't like garlic and substitute it with a tablespoon dried or fresh chives, chopped. - - If you buy sardine fillets the correct dose is 320 to 350 grams (11 1/3 to 12 1/3 ounces).
- - Prepare the baked sardines for your family at dinner.
Healthy eating
- - Daily menu. Look at the nutrition facts of baked sardines. The situation is normal except for protein that are high for the fish presence.
According to the principles of modern nutrition we should eat protein (meat or fish or eggs or cheese) at dinner. In fact we have just suggested to prepare this dish for dinner. To compensate the protein amount prepare a vegetarian pasta at lunch and complete your lunch with raw vegetables and fruit. - - According to the traditional recipe the right amount of olive oil was to be 3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons. We generally reduce it to 2 teaspoons as you can read. We think it is the right amount.
Think of it. Every 2 teaspoons olive oil (10g) means 90 kCal and 10 grams of fat. Now calculate how much calories and fat would increase with 3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons olive oil instead of 1 tablespoon. We can no longer eat as we were used to do in the past. Nowadays we need less calories than in the past. We have heated homes. We move less. We are more protected by the clothes. We need less calories, really. - - I remember you nutritionists recommend 2 to 3 fish portions a week for a balanced and healthy eating.
- - The sardines are part of the group of oily fish (blue fish) rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, particularly omega 3. In fact, omega-3 decreases the risk of thrombosis, protecting the body from cardiovascular disease, especially when there has already been a heart attack.
In addition, the sardine is a food rich in calcium (350mg per 100g of food) and is recommended to combat the processes of bone decalcification. - - Celebration menu. Don't worry in this case. A special occasion happens rarely, doesn't it? Besides I think baked sardines, Sardinia-style is not ideal for a special occasion unless you prepare it as a starter for a fish menu and divide it among more than two guests.
- - If you want to drink a glass of wine remember you have to add 80-85 kCal per 100 ml.
- - I remember you our original home recipes can be made without salt. There is always a combination of flavors that substitutes salt. Other no salt recipes ...
Loretta
What's the right wine ?
Wine can't be suggested for the presence of lemon juice. Match a beer with baked sardines.
The author Loretta Sebastiani lives in Italy (IT)
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