toSmall fish, big flavour. A can of silver sardines dipped in oil or tomatoes will give you a great start to dinner, whether left whole, peeled, mashed to toss with pasta or a griddle, or piled on boiled rice or a slice of toast (alongside tomatoes and onions, for example). And the strong umami flavor means you don’t need a lot of it to get proper flavor, whether it’s in a sauce, like today’s puttanesca to spoon over polenta (or pasta), or folded into a salad.
Sardine and celery salad (pictured above)
Sardines and celery are a winning combination in this salad, but you can easily replace the lettuce with white beans or cooked beans to bulk things up.
Preparatory school 15 minutes
serves 2
2 tablespoons virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon whole grain mustard
Flavor and juice ½ lemon
1 small garlic clove, Peeled and crushed
1 small handful of chopped chives
1 small handful of chopped tarragon
2 teaspoon capersdrained
Salt and black pepper
3 celery sticksCut into cubes
120 grams of canned sardines in olive oildrained
1 handful of lettuce leaves
In a large bowl, combine the oil, mustard, lemon zest and juice, garlic, chives, tarragon, and capers. Season generously, then add the celery, followed by the sardines and lettuce leaves. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary.
Sardine puttanesca with polenta
Canned sardines replace traditional anchovies in this delicious meal that makes good use of store cupboard ingredients.
Preparatory school 10 minutes
He cooks 35 minutes
serves 2
2 cans of sardines, 95 grams, in olive oil
1 red onionPeeled and finely chopped
2 garlic clovesPeeled and finely chopped
½ red pepper, Finely chopped
400 grams chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
Salt and black pepper
40 grams of pitted black olivesBad
1 tablespoon capersdrained
Stock 500 mlor water
125g quick cooking polenta
15 grams of butter
1 small handful of fresh oregano papers
Pour some oil from one of the cans of sardines into a frying pan over medium heat, add the red onions and cook, stirring, for about 10 minutes until tender.
Add garlic, chili pepper, chopped tomatoes, tomato paste and 100ml water, season and simmer for 15 minutes, until thickened. Add the drained sardines, olives and capers and cook for another five minutes.
Bring the stock (or water) to a boil, then reduce the heat and add the polenta, whisking constantly.
Continue whisking for a few minutes, until they are cooked and coming away from the sides of the pan, then add the butter and season.
Serve sardine puttanesca over polenta and sprinkle with fresh oregano.
These recipes are edited extracts from Store Cupboard Genius: 200 Clever Recipes to Transform Forgotten Ingredients, by Anna Birrell, published by Thames & Hudson, priced £19.99. To order a copy for £17.99, go to guardianbookshop.com
