Sardines, melon and cherry
Sounds wild, I know. But it works like a charm.
The sardines are a tribute to Portuguese tradition. (And they do grow a lot of cherries in Portugal, I don’t know about melons…)
Fresh sardine fillets cut into 1inch/1 inch squares pan fried with ample amounts of salt and pepper. They should be crisp on the outside (for even more bitterness) and only cooked on each side long enough to put on the salt and pepper. Keep the inside moist and fatty.
Pitted cherries and squares of melon.
Sardines on the bottom, melon in the middle and cherry on top (of course!)
The 2 most important spices are curcuma and cinnamon that are to be added, pinched onto the top of the little ‘sandwich’. These give sweetness to the sardines and spiciness for the wine. This is a perfect wine food marriage, probably the best of this whole series)
this looks SO good. what a great idea to marry the bitterness of the sardine (something i usually shy away from).
thanks spl!
I agree its surprising, but the combo really worked out. I used to shy away from Sardines too, but I’ve been cooking them a lot recently. They are cheap, delicious and that ‘bitterness’ goes very well with spices….and red wine.