River Cottage Sardine Bake
Now don't freak out...the recipe I am about to share with you contains sardines. I can feel you freaking. Yes, sardines, those cartoon character fishes that are all packed into the can as tightly as possible and then pull the tin can top up over themselves like a quilt to make a bed.
OK, I may have watched too many old cartoons as a kid. To be honest, I didn't think I liked sardines either. I'd never tried them, but I was pretty sure I didn't like them. This is the problem, we decide we don't like things before we even give them a chance.
Fortunately, Andy likes sardines. Andy likes all sorts of canned fish, it's a British thing I think. When we saw Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall make this Sardine Bake on a River Cottage program Andy said 'We've got to try that.'
So we did... and we LOVE it! There is something I must tell you before I go any further. This isn't the prettiest dish you will ever make. Actually, it's rather bland looking, but it really is VERY tasty. On the plus side, it only requires simple store cupboard ingredients and it's very economical to make. Here is how to do it:
20 grams butter
1 small onion- peeled and finely sliced
2 -3 potatoes- peeled and cut into thin matchsticks
salt and pepper to taste
120 gram tin of sardines in oil- drained
milk - about 3 ounces
Fry the onions in the butter over a low heat. You want them to become translucent rather than brown. Add the potato matchsticks, season with salt and pepper, and cook for a few minutes, until the potatoes begin to soften.
Butter a baking dish and pour in half of the potato-onion mixture, top this with the sardines. Put the remaining potato mix over the sardine layer and pour in a few splashes of milk. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake at 190C/375F for 20 to 25 minutes. The potatoes should be tender. Remove the foil and bake for about 10 minutes or until the potatoes begin to turn golden. Serve hot with good bread and salty butter.
That's it...easy. So don't freak out and give sardines a chance.
OK, I may have watched too many old cartoons as a kid. To be honest, I didn't think I liked sardines either. I'd never tried them, but I was pretty sure I didn't like them. This is the problem, we decide we don't like things before we even give them a chance.
Fortunately, Andy likes sardines. Andy likes all sorts of canned fish, it's a British thing I think. When we saw Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall make this Sardine Bake on a River Cottage program Andy said 'We've got to try that.'
So we did... and we LOVE it! There is something I must tell you before I go any further. This isn't the prettiest dish you will ever make. Actually, it's rather bland looking, but it really is VERY tasty. On the plus side, it only requires simple store cupboard ingredients and it's very economical to make. Here is how to do it:
20 grams butter
1 small onion- peeled and finely sliced
2 -3 potatoes- peeled and cut into thin matchsticks
salt and pepper to taste
120 gram tin of sardines in oil- drained
milk - about 3 ounces
Fry the onions in the butter over a low heat. You want them to become translucent rather than brown. Add the potato matchsticks, season with salt and pepper, and cook for a few minutes, until the potatoes begin to soften.
Butter a baking dish and pour in half of the potato-onion mixture, top this with the sardines. Put the remaining potato mix over the sardine layer and pour in a few splashes of milk. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake at 190C/375F for 20 to 25 minutes. The potatoes should be tender. Remove the foil and bake for about 10 minutes or until the potatoes begin to turn golden. Serve hot with good bread and salty butter.
That's it...easy. So don't freak out and give sardines a chance.
My dad eats sardines out of the can still till this day! This looks amazing.... I so have to share this with him!!! Happy day to you! Nicole
ReplyDeleteIt's very tasty... I hope he tries it. : Dx
DeleteVery nice, I like sardines and my husband really really likes them and often has them on his packed lunch sandwich combined with all sorts including hummus and cheese! My mum used to make sardines, mashed onto toast and then put back under the grill, it's absolutely delicious and was also one of my student stapes!
ReplyDeleteI'll have to try the grilled sardines on toast...sounds delicious!
DeleteMr digandweed loves sardines but I'm not so sure. You've convinced me to try this though!
ReplyDeleteI was a bit timid the first time I tried it but it's really rather good.
DeleteSo I have immediately printed the recipe, thank you, I love canned sardines but have not eaten them for a long time. I take the chance to make this dish!
ReplyDeleteHave a nice weekend!
Janneke
It's such a simple dish but very good. Hope you have a lovely weekend, too!
DeleteI'm going to do a bigger version of this tomorrow. There are so many wonderful brands of sardines around at the moment. My favourite is Hyacinthe Palmentier (Waitrose) a French brand but caught and canned off Portugal....
ReplyDeleteI will add them to my shopping list. Thanks for the recommendation. 😊
DeleteSmoked kipper fillets are going in to th mix with this one. Lovely.
ReplyDeleteSounds delicious!
DeleteI saw this on the tv recently , so it was obviously a repeat, and wondered if I could find the recipe online. I found it here so thanks for including it on your blog.
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure! Enjoy!
DeleteWell, for something with only a couple of ingredients it was delicious. We did have some of my 'no knead' bread with it which is very rustic. Brilliant, and I might add, very cheap to do. We were discussing what else you could do to improve it and we agreed that nothing was necessary.
ReplyDeleteI was given some canned sardines from a friend who was moving away, and I've been looking for ways to use them. This sounds easy and delicious, and I already have the ingredients on hand!
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, your blog is beautiful! The photos are pure art. That and the lack of pop-ups makes it so inviting, I'm on my way to explore it. Brava!