Italian · Dinner
Sweet and Sour Fried Sardines
Sarde in Saor Veneziane
The Venetian sailor's preparation of fried sardines layered with sweet-and-sour onions slow-cooked in white wine vinegar, then steeped overnight with raisins and pine nuts to soften the vinegar bite into mellow depth.
$$
20 minsPrep
30 minsCook
50 minsTotal
MediumLevel
Nutrition per serving
612Calories
34gProtein
32gFat
48gCarbs
12gSugar
3gFiber
680mgSodium
85mgChol
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Instructions
1
Prep
Slice 400g white onion very thin. Pat 440g sardine fillets dry. Mix salt and pepper. Measure vinegar, water, sugar, raisins, pine nuts, bay leaves, and flour. Chop parsley.
2
Saute
Heat 6 tbsp olive oil over medium-low heat 1 minute. Add onions, salt, bay leaves; cook 18–20 minutes stirring occasionally until soft, sweet, pale gold. Add vinegar, water, sugar; raise to medium, simmer 5 minutes until glossy. Stir in raisins and pine nuts off heat.
3
Fry
Season sardine fillets with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour, shake off excess. Heat 120ml olive oil over medium-high until shimmering, about 1–2 minutes. Fry sardines in two batches, 90 seconds per side until golden and crisp-edged. Lift to paper towel.
4
Build
In a small dish, layer starting with a spoonful of saor onions, then fried sardines, then onions, repeating until all used. Finish with onions on top. Cover, refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Remove 15 minutes before serving to reach room temperature.
5
Plate
Transfer saor to a shallow bowl, scatter chopped parsley over top, and serve with crusty bread for soaking the sweet-sour onion liquor.
Recipes use AI and Edamam. Always check for allergens before cooking. Spotted something wrong—email us at hello@grubplanit.com.
Serves
2 portions ·
2 adults, 0 over 10, 0 under 10
Ingredients
- 440g (15.5 oz) fresh sardines
- 0.5 tsp fine sea salt
- 0.5 tsp black pepper
- 60g (2.1 oz) plain flour
- 120ml (1/2 cup) light olive oil
- 400g (14.1 oz) white onion
- 180ml (3/4 cup) extra virgin olive oil
- 240ml (1 cup) white wine vinegar
- 120ml (1/2 cup) water
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
- 40g (1.4 oz) golden raisins
- 30g (1.1 oz) pine nuts
- 4 fresh bay leaves
- 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley
- 120g (4.2 oz) crusty bread