Ravinder Bhogal has a way of making breadcrumbs surprisingly appealing. Her recipe for butter bean aglio e olio topped with anchovy pangrattato was a big hit with readers in January. Here, sourdough breadcrumbs form the basis of a salsa that tastes incredibly fresh given that it contains many cupboard ingredients. Eat early in a sunny spot and prepare to add “put dried fruit in salsa” to the list of things Ravinder can convince you to do.
Drink
This recipe was written following a trip to Sicily, and Ravinder suggests a chilled white wine from one of the region’s natural winemakers, like Arianna Occhipinti’s SP68.
Replacements
You can use raisins instead of currants. Red wine vinegar or other shallots will work if needed. Canned sardines will yield something tasty but different.
Advice
Stale bread is “great for turning into pangrattato to top fish pasta where you might not want to use parmesan,” says Ravinder. (Traditionally, it’s heresy to combine pasta with cheese and fish.) If you’re using canned sardines rather than fresh sardines, Ravinder suggests that this should actually be served as a pasta dish: toss the finished dish with spaghetti.
Ravinder Bhogal Sardines with Breadcrumb Salsa
To serve two
For the breadcrumb salsa
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Start by preparing the salsa. In a small bowl, combine the currants and shallot. Spread the oregano on top, salt and pepper, pour three tablespoons of olive oil and vinegar and mix well.
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Leave to infuse for at least half an hour, but you can even do it overnight.
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Roughly chop the bread into pieces and put it in a food processor to make coarse crumbs. In a large frying pan, heat the remaining olive oil then add the garlic and breadcrumbs and fry over low heat for about 10 minutes, until the bread is crispy. Let cool. Toast the pine nuts in the pan.
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In a bowl, combine the tomatoes, capers, pine nuts, parsley and cooled breadcrumbs, then pour in the salsa and let sit while you fry the sardines.
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Season the sardines with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Heat a frying pan until very hot, then fry the sardines skin side down for two to three minutes. Carefully turn over, remove the pan from the heat and let them cook for a further two minutes over residual heat. Serve with the salsa and sprinkle with lemon zest. If using canned sardines, do not reheat them.
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