Angel hair pasta and sardines

[Michael in FtW]

The basic recipe:

1 (10-12 oz) pkg Angel hair pasta
1 15-oz can sardines in tomato sauce

1) Put a pot of water on to come to a boil
2) Open the can of sardines - remove the sardoies to a plate and reserve the sauce.
3) Fillet the sardines, discard the bones, and cut the fillets into 3-4 pieces.
4) When the water comes to a boil - put the pasta on to cook
5) Heat the sardines and reserved sauce in a 10-12 inch saute pan over low heat - do not burn
6) Add 1/4 cup pasta water to the sardines and sauce, add the pasta and mix with the sardines and sauce.

Serves: 2
Cost: about $2.50

Gussy it up:

1/2 cup diced onion
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
2 Tbs olive oil

Follow the above instructions ... except in step 5:

Saute the onions in the olive oil, then add the sardines and canned tomatoes sauce, and the 8-oz can of tomato sauce.

This adds about $0.75 - $1 to the recipe.

You can also:

add some sliced mushrooms - saute them with the onion
add some minced garlic

ALTERNATIVE TO PASTA:

Also works served over cooked rice - just thin the sauce a little.

 

[Uncle Bob]

Love Sardines...a favorite for Sunday night supper...Crackers, cheese, onions, hot sauce etc....

Now I got to do the Sardines with Pasta idea....

Could Sardine etouffee be next....

Holey Moley my mind is spinning!!!!

Thanks Michael for the inspiration, and the recipe!!

 

[Michael in FtW]

LOL - I actually got the inspiration from reading an Italian cookbook!

I LOVE sardines, too! But, they have gotten sooo expensive ... and crackers are not as cheap these days, either! Thank goodness for the $1 stores!!!

Sardine Sandwich:

1 small can sardines in oil, drained
2 slices rye, pumpernickle or other similar tasty brown bread
big smear of spicy Cajun brown mustard with a touch of horseradish
thin slices of red onion - or pickled red onion

 

[lifesaver]

Michael, I love toasted pumpernickle with butter... I wonder wonder what the toast would taste like with mayo, sardines, lettuce, tomato and onion. I've always had a wonderful imagination.

 

[Uncle Bob]

Mmmmmm pumpernickle...I don't have any right now, but I'm thinking a flat can of King Oscar or maybe Crown Prince would work perfectly....Oh and some Zatarains mustard is a good idea!!

 

[GrillingFool]

I found FRIED sardines (well mackerels) in my Asian store.
Those are really good. Not as healthy as the sardines,
but the do hold together better in a noodle bowl.
Lately my "meat" in my noodle bowls has been sardines in
chili sauce. 79 cents for a can!

My sardine sandwich is on onion bun, with onions and cheddar.
Preferably the sardines in hot sauce.

 

[Constance]

I love sardines, but I always buy them plain or in mustard sauce. I'll have to try the ones in chili sauce some time.

 

[justplainbill]

I used to enjoy King Oscar sardines. But after driving past a sardine cannery in the Maritimes of Eastern Canada I'm less enthusiastic. I do not think King Oscar's brief encounter with Con Agra Foods did much good for King Oscar and Bumble Bee brands.

Pasta with a sardine & fennel sauce is a classic Italian dish.

 

[Uncle Bob]

Bill my King Oscars say Product of Norway....Are they lying to me?
I really like the Crown Prince better anyway...but...

 

[BreezyCooking]

I ADORE Sardine sandwiches - just mashed up sardines with lettuce & a nice slice of raw red onion on a good hard poppyseed roll! My mother used to make them for me all the time, & I could never understand why no one wanted to sit next to me during school lunchtime - lol!!

I've never EVER deboned them!! What a waste!! Not only are those bones softer than the bread/pasta/crackers you're serving them on, but removing them defeats part of what makes sardines a wonderfully nutritious food for women - all that terrific calcium!!

Folks - please don't bone them. You don't even notice the bones are there.

 

[justplainbill]

Bill my King Oscars say Product of Norway....Are they lying to me?
I really like the Crown Prince better anyway...but...

Good hearing from you UB. Wouln't doubt for a minute that they're still from Norway but the Brisling smoked and in olive oil seem to me to have become a bit too mushy. I'll have to check out those Crown Prince sardines. Having harvested a few octopus, while being stationed in Italy for a few years, perhaps I'm into chewier seafood. Wonder if any of the folks on DC have any opinion about Goya's canned Spanish octopus products? If so I'm game to order 1/2 dozen each of their canned octopus. If it's made right it can make a dandy salad.

 

[Michael in FtW]

Folks - please don't bone them. You don't even notice the bones are there.

LOL - I don't bone the small ones for sandwiches (mom wouldn't have eaten one of those on a bet) - I was removing the bones from the larger ones that come in those 15-oz cans. The problem was that my step-mom wouldn't eat fish if she saw any bones - and she flaked and picked everything apart to make sure ... even fish sticks and from the fish-n-chips place.

 

[BrazenAmateur]

I ADORE Sardine sandwiches - just mashed up sardines with lettuce & a nice slice of raw red onion on a good hard poppyseed roll! My mother used to make them for me all the time, & I could never understand why no one wanted to sit next to me during school lunchtime - lol!!

I've never EVER deboned them!! What a waste!! Not only are those bones softer than the bread/pasta/crackers you're serving them on, but removing them defeats part of what makes sardines a wonderfully nutritious food for women - all that terrific calcium!!

Folks - please don't bone them. You don't even notice the bones are there.

+1 to ALL of this.

I've never tried that sandwich idea, but it sounds good. I think I might do that for dinner tonight, actually.

I love sardines, anchovies, pilchard, herring, and saury/sanma in all their forms. Fresh, canned, smoked, whatever. Bring it on.


Nothing, and by nothing I mean no other food item on earth, beats fresh sardines (or Saury) grilled over an open flame. All you need is fish + shoyu + stick + fire = best meal ever. Simplicity is king.


I CANNOT find fresh anchovies to save my life. They are impossibly tasty when served marinated (i.e. not salty) with mozz, olive oil, and some roasted red pepper, but I CAN'T FIND ANY.

 

[BreezyCooking]

I've never had fresh sardines, & passed up my only chance to try them when once - just once - 13 years ago a supermarket here in Virginia had them around Xmas time.

You don't see them much outside of large metropolitan areas with large ethnic populations because 1) many folks tend to avoid buying fresh seafood they're not sure what to do with or that they feel might be "fishy", & 2) oily-type fish (like sardines, herring, mackerel, etc.) go bad a LOT faster than other types, thus markets aren't that eager to carry them if they don't think they'll be able to move them in a timely fashion.

 

[BrazenAmateur]

I've never had fresh sardines, & passed up my only chance to try them when once - just once - 13 years ago a supermarket here in Virginia had them around Xmas time.

You don't see them much outside of large metropolitan areas with large ethnic populations because 1) many folks tend to avoid buying fresh seafood they're not sure what to do with or that they feel might be "fishy", & 2) oily-type fish (like sardines, herring, mackerel, etc.) go bad a LOT faster than other types, thus markets aren't that eager to carry them if they don't think they'll be able to move them in a timely fashion.

Yeah, it can be hard for me to find all the little oily fishes I so adore, even in DC.

Korean markets tend to be my best bet. Our local "Lotte" almost always has fresh sardine and fresh mackerel, usually very fresh and still twisted with rigor. I get bluefish there too, which can be stupid good when done on a grill or under a broiler.

Whole Foods will have fresh sardines once in a blue moon, but they're way way way overpriced for the same quality (i.e. stellar) as the Asian markets.


Just on the subject of budget cooking in general, Asian markets ARE YOUR FRIEND, if you have access to them. I get fresh fish, sukiyaki beef, pork belly, huge bulk bags of rice, greens, and tons of other stuff for way less than even discount supermarket prices. I find the turnover (and thus the freshness) of produce and seafood in particular in these ethnic markets is top-notch, likely because these populations eat a lot more of that kind of thing than does your average American.

 

[BreezyCooking]

Ahhhhh, Bluefish. I'm originally from Long Island, NY, & fishing for "Blues" (& their youngsters, "Snappers") from the beach or jetty were one of my favorite pasttimes. They don't get any fresher than that!!

Unfortunately, my husband doesn't care for fish from the "oily" families, so when I do occasionally come across decently fresh Bluefish or Mackerel around here, I just buy it for myself.

 

[BrazenAmateur]

Ahhhhh, Bluefish. I'm originally from Long Island, NY, & fishing for "Blues" (& their youngsters, "Snappers") from the beach or jetty were one of my favorite pasttimes. They don't get any fresher than that!!

Unfortunately, my husband doesn't care for fish from the "oily" families, so when I do occasionally come across decently fresh Bluefish or Mackerel around here, I just buy it for myself.

The oily fishes can be a hard sell with my wife too.

She doesn't mind them cooked, and has actually acquired a taste for broiled or grilled mackerel, but she can't stand mackerel sushi, too oily apparently.

I LOVE raw mackerel, it's so rich-tasting.