Good Fish_ Sustainable Seafood Recipes From the Pacific Coast - Becky Selengut [70]
BY ANY OTHER NAME: Sardine (Sardinops sagax) is also called pilchard or iwashi (in sushi bars).
SEASON: The season depends on when the various sardine stocks travel up the Pacific Coast, but generally, prime season is January through August (with some fresh sardines still available into October). Of course, canned are available year-round.
BUYING TIPS: Fresh sardines are incredible and knock-your-socks-off delicious, but they are also delicate little flowers and don’t have the shelf life of other, sturdier species. You’ll want really, really freshly caught sardines: three days out of the water max—maybe four if they were handled very well.
QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE YOU PULL OUT YOUR WALLET: Are these Pacific Coast sardines? Again, management around the world is not as strict as U.S. management, so it’s better—for many reasons—to buy domestic. Where and when were they caught?
CARING FOR YOUR GOOD FISH: Because fresh sardines are especially perishable, keep them very, very cold and eat them the day you buy them.
HOW THIS TYPE OF SEAFOOD IS RAISED OR HARVESTED: Sardines are generally harvested by purse seining, which carries with it very little risk of bycatch. Gill-netting and midwater trawling are other ways sardines can be caught.
SUSTAINABLE SUBSTITUTES: Anchovies are a good stand-in, though keep in mind they are smaller, more intensely flavored, and when canned or tinned, much saltier. Mackerel is another good substitute.
dad’s sardines on crackers with caramelized onions
1 (4-ounce) tin sardines,
canned in extra-virgin olive
oil
1 tablespoon dried currants
1 tablespoon gin
½ cup small-diced red onion
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon extra-virgin
olive oil
Freshly ground pepper
Dijon mustard, for spreading
on crackers
2 tablespoons finely chopped
fresh Italian parsley
I was raised by a committee of loving folks consisting of the chair (my dad), co-chairs (my grandparents), and board members (my aunt and our “housekeeper” Louise, who did so much more than just keep house). Louise is Jamaican, and friends used to tell me that I had a slight Jamaican accent when I was a kid because she was one of my constant companions. Apparently, as the story goes, Louise misinterpreted a story my dad told her about a trip to England where he was served kippers for breakfast. I think she thought my dad wanted that, and so, occasionally, I’d be woken up by the smell of fish frying in a pan at 6:30 a.m. Sometimes it would be sardines for breakfast. I don’t think my dad had the heart to tell her he liked littlefish—but not with his morning coffee. This recipe goes out to Louise with love, wherever she may be (on earth or beyond), and to my dad, who raised me to be a good eater and stuck with me through the picky years.
SERVES 6 TO 8 AS AN APPETIZER
Remove the sardines from the tin, discarding the oil, and place them in a bowl. Get the currants drunk by floating them in the gin.
Caramelize the onions by cooking them, along with the salt, in the olive oil in a small sauté pan over medium-high heat. Keep cooking them until they get very soft and light brown. If they get too dry, add some water to prevent them from burning. It should take 15 to 20 minutes for the onions to get good and sweet.
OK, you’re in the home stretch now—just mash up those sardines with a fork, add the drunk currants and the caramelized onions, and season generously with pepper. Eat the sardines on crackers with Dijon mustard and the parsley garnish. If you’re really cool, you’ll eat them for breakfast, like my dad did.
PAIRING: A vermentino, such as Antinori 2007, Bolgheri, Italy, or a rosé.
white bean and sardine salad with fried eggs
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
¼ small red onion, cored,