Sarde a beccafico
Sarde a beccafico are butterflied sardines stuffed with toasted breadcrumbs, pine nuts, raisins, parsley and orange, rolled up with bay leaves and baked.
CKContributed by The Castruriali Kitchen · CastrorealeSee all their recipes →Ingredients
- 600 gfresh sardines (about 20), butterflied with heads removed
- 6 tbspCastruriali extra virgin olive oilOlive oil toasts the breadcrumbs and binds the stuffing and a little more goes over the top before baking.
- 80 gdried breadcrumbs
- 30 gpine nuts
- 30 graisins, soaked and chopped
- 3 anchovy fillets, chopped
- 2 tbspflat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 1 orange: zest and juice
- 1 tspsugar
- 12 bay leaves
- salt and black pepper
Method
Toast the crumbs. Toast the breadcrumbs in 3 tablespoons of oil over a medium heat until golden. Off the heat, stir in the anchovies until they melt into the crumbs, then the pine nuts, raisins, parsley, orange zest, sugar and seasoning. Moisten with a tablespoon of orange juice.
Stuff and roll. Lay the sardines skin side down. Put a teaspoon of stuffing at the head end of each and roll towards the tail, so the tail sticks up.
Arrange. Pack the rolls tightly in an oiled dish, tails upwards, with a bay leaf between every few. Scatter over any leftover stuffing.
Bake. Drizzle with the remaining oil and orange juice and bake at 180°C (350°F) for 15–20 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.