An excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, a deliverer of protein, cheaper than chips and more delicious than, erm, chips, tinned sardines are one of the most underappreciated, overlooked store cupboard staples.
Let’s change all that today. If you’re keen to include this superfood in your diet more regularly, then you’re probably wondering what to cook with tinned sardines to turn them into a full meal. You’ve come to the right place; here are 6 delicious tinned sardine recipe ideas.
SARDINE RAGU
This sardine ragu – served with spaghetti, linguini or bucatini – is as good as any beefed up version. It’s also much cheaper to assemble and better for you…what’s not to love?
Start by sweating down a sofrito of finely diced white onion, fennel, carrot and celery in a confident glug of olive oil until softened but not coloured. Grate a little garlic into the frying pan. Add a bay leaf if you’re feeling fancy.
After the sofrito mix has sweated sufficiently add a small spoonful of flour. Stir to coat the mix and cook off for a couple of minutes – this will ensure that the ragu has a pleasant, coating mouthfeel and thickens slightly.
Next, add a glug of white wine and bring to the boil to burn off the raw alcohol. A couple of minutes later, add tinned sardines in tomato sauce to the sofrito mix, along with a touch of extra passata and a dash of chicken stock. Season with salt and a pinch of sugar, and simmer until it reaches a ragu-like consistency (this should only take around 15 minutes). You’ll know when it’s done when a subtle sheen of fat collects at the sides of the pan and dapples the top of your ragu.
At the same time, cook your preferred pasta in plenty of boiling salted water for around 9 and a half minutes or according to the packet’s instructions. When the pasta is al dente, pull it out of the boiling water with tongs and into the ragu pan, bringing a little of the pasta water into the ragu for extra glossiness. Toss for 30 seconds or so to ensure everything is amalgamated and emulsified.
We add a grating of parmesan to finish. Some may think this is heresy.
PASTA CON LE (TINNED) SARDE
For something a little closer to traditional, why not make the classic Siclian dish pasta con le sarde, but use tinned sardines instead of fresh, the latter of which is traditionally used for this recipe. You can also substitute British fennel (making sure you keep the fronds for a garnish) rather than the stronger wild fennel usually found in the OG Sicilian version.
This is an intoxicating, intriguing dish made special with the addition of saffron and the intriguing interplay between pine nuts, raisins and oily fish. Check out a traditional and easy to follow recipe for pasta con le sarde over on Great Italian Chefs.
TINNED SARDINE FISH CAKES
Tinned sardines work wonderfully well for fishcakes, with the oily fish helping bring the mix together and bind it, lending a luxuriousness to the patty’s texture.
This recipe couldn’t be simpler. What’s more, fish cakes are a great vehicle for using up leftover ingredients like potatoes and herbs on their way out. You could even use any Sunday roast vegetables that you’ve got kicking around in the fridge on Monday or Tuesday.
Bring some starchy mashing spuds (King Edwards, Maris Piper or Desiree) to the boil, starting from cold, salted water. Once they’re mashing consistency – test with the tip of a knife – drain in a colander and allow them to steam dry a while. Alternatively, you could use a few leftover roast potatoes, though the finish on your fishcake will be a little more rustic.
Mash the cool potatoes fairly roughly, and mix a knob with softened butter, the tinned sardines, some sliced spring onions, some salt, and plenty of cracked black pepper. You shouldn’t need an egg to bind these guys.
Shape the mix into discs with floured hands, then fry in a mix of oil and foaming butter for around 4 minutes on either side, taking good care not to burn the fishcakes, but certainly taking them far enough to be crisp.
From here on in, you can enjoy these tinned sardine fishcakes any way you like. We love them with baked beans…the ultimate comfort food, don’t you think? Alternatively, a green salad and squeeze of lemon works well.
TINNED SARDINES ON TOAST
A humble brunch dish, if ever there was one, but tinned sardines on toast is no less delicious for its simplicity. Once you’ve established the magic formula that makes the dish so satisfying – sardines, the toast as a vehicle, an acidic element and a fresh herb – then you’re free to experiment any way you please.
Some enjoy a bruschetta style serving, toasting slices on sourdough on a griddle pan before adding a squeeze of lemon and some finely chopped parsley, while others go down the pan con tomate route, topping this tapas staple with sardines and fine sliced chives.
Others even choose to top their beloved avo on toast with tinned sardines for a one-two punch of those‘good’ fats.
THAI STYLE SARDINE SALAD
Sunny summer days when fresh sardines are at their best seem to call for something light and zingy. Apply this sensibility to tinned sardines by making a fresh, spicy Thai style yam, which roughly translates as ‘salad’ but is so much more than that.
First, make the dressing. To a cold pan add equal quantities of freshly squeezed lime juice and fish sauce. Next, a quarter of the liquid mix of palm sugar (if you don’t have this ingredient replace it with caster or brown sugar). Then, add some thinly sliced garlic and some sliced Thai chillies; the amount depends on your heat tolerance. To really make this recipe sing, slice a thumb of ginger into matchsticks and add to the plan too. Finally, throw in a splash of water and gently heat until the mixture is warm (but don’t boil). Take off the hob and allow to cool while you prepare the salad.
For the salad you’ll need a tin of sardines (not the ones bathing in tomato sauce, here), some slices of white onion, finely sliced spring onions and finely sliced lemongrass, and some cherry tomatoes cut in half. Feel free to add any other crunchy vegetables which work well raw to mix, such as carrots or cucumber.
After that it’s simply an assembly job; add the dressing to a bowl of all the ingredients in the previous paragraph and give it a good mix. Finish with picked coriander and mint and eat with rice.
TINNED SARDINE PASTE
We’ve been cooking the anchovy paste from Highbury restaurant Trullo’s excellent cookbook for years now. On those rare days when we’ve found our cupboards all out of anchovies, tinned sardines have made a more than viable replacement.
Here, tinned sardines are blitzed in a blender with a little garlic and a dash of red wine vinegar, before 4 times the sardine’s weight in olive oil is trickled into the blender whilst it’s running, creating an emulsion. Adjust the seasoning to taste and spread onto bread. Alternatively, this paste is an amazing addition to a burger!
Let the sardine love-in continue…
We just love the spiritual home of tinned sardines, where you’ll find stores dedicated to selling them in the prettiest of tins. Find out about this, and more, in our guide to the best food in Lisbon.