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Easy Sarde in Saor: Sardines from Venice

    Venetian sarde in saor: a sweet and sour sardine recipe with vinegar pickled onions, raisins and pine nuts... Lovely lunch idea to make a day in advance!Do try out these Venetian sarde in saor! This is a sweet and sour marinated sardine recipe with vinegar, pickled onions, raisins and pine nuts…

    Sarde in saor.

    Atypical Venetian sardine recipe.

    Ever heard of this one before?

    Venice

    Some use the name ’sweet and sour sardines’ also instead of sarde in saor.

    It is an easy appetizer or starter dish because you can prepare it a day in advance. You eat these sardines cold with some crunchy bread on the side to mop up the remaining vinegar sauce.

    Conclusion: this is a real treat for hot summer days!

    Venetian sarde in saor: a sweet and sour sardine recipe with vinegar pickled onions, raisins and pine nuts... Lovely lunch idea to make a day in advance!

    Easy Sarde in Saor Recipe

    Make this sarde in saor recipe with fresh sardines, definitely not the canned ones.

    Do you often cook with fresh fish?

    Here in Spain we have an abundance of fresh fish. Sea bass, sea bream, hake, salmon, fresh anchovies… all sorts of fish. Fresh sardines are available year in year out so you will always find them here.

    You can ask your fishmonger to clean them for you if you like.

    They most likely will do it.

    Cheap Fish

    Do you buy fish often?

    I have noticed that quite a few fishmongers in Belgium prefer to spend that time selling more fish instead of cleaning fish. Sardines are very cheap here as well and they are not always willing to clean cheap fish.

    More expensive turbot and lemon sole, sure. But fresh sardines, you can do that yourself.

    Fortunately there is really not a lot to it when it comes to cleaning fish.

    If you feel comfortable enough you can even do it by yourself if you like to get your hands dirty in the kitchen.

    Not sure how to do that?

    How to Clean Sardines

    See here how to clean sardines like a boss! Step by step, with picture.

    It is very simple to do!

    I first tasted sarde in soar for lunch while we were visiting the extremely picturesque small island village of Burano near Venice, Italy.

    It was one of those excruciatingly hot days, that Italian sun was just savage! But we had a lot of fun. We took the ferry to the island and enjoyed every second of it.

    It is quite a tourist attraction, with all those colorful houses and small canals.

    Here's a step-by-step picture guide to show you how to clean fish like fresh sardines! Once you’ve cleaned the first one you’ll see how easy it goes...

    Sarde in Saor Lunch in Burano

    Food we thought would be highly overpriced and somewhat mediocre and of poor quality.

    But we sat down to a lovely little lunch somewhere in the shade. And then ordered these sardines, not knowing what we would really get. However this dish turned out to be lip smacking good!

    Some chefs add extra white wine and almonds to this recipe.

    Almonds

    But I don’t want to drown the sardines in ingredients.

    I kept it very basic by just adding raisins and pine nuts for crunch because I still want the sardines to be the hero of this dish.

    Enjoy!

    Venetian sarde in saor: a sweet and sour sardine recipe with vinegar pickled onions, raisins and pine nuts... Lovely lunch idea to make a day in advance!

    Easy Ventian Sarde in Saor Recipe

    Venetian Sarde in Saor
    Prep Time
    30 mins
    Cook Time
    30 mins
    Total Time
    1 hr
     

    Venetian sarde in saor: a sweet and sour sardine recipe with vinegar pickled onions, raisins and pine nuts... Lovely lunch idea to make a day in advance then!

    Course: Lunch
    Cuisine: Italian
    Servings: 2 people
    Calories per serving: 328 kcal
    Ingredients
    • 4 fresh sardines
    • 1 medium onion
    • ½ cup red wine vinegar (120 ml)
    • ¼ cup water (60 ml)
    • 2 tbsp plain flour
    • 2 tbsp raisins
    • olive oil
    • pepper
    • salt
    Instructions
    1. Peel and trim the onion. Slice it up finely and transfer to a saucepan. Pour in the vinegar and water.
      Venetian sarde in saor: a sweet and sour sardine recipe with vinegar pickled onions, raisins and pine nuts... Lovely lunch idea to make a day in advance!
    2. Place it over medium-high heat until boiling. Then let the vinegar reduce at least by half. Season with a little pepper and salt to taste. Keep the onions crunchy!
      Venetian sarde in saor: a sweet and sour sardine recipe with vinegar pickled onions, raisins and pine nuts... Lovely lunch idea to make a day in advance!
    3. Then remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the raisins. Let the onions rest until cooled down.
      Venetian sarde in saor: a sweet and sour sardine recipe with vinegar pickled onions, raisins and pine nuts... Lovely lunch idea to make a day in advance!
    4. In the meantime clean the fresh sardines thoroughly. Rinse them under cold running tap water. Pat them dry with some kitchen paper. Pour the plain flour on a plate. Season with a dash of pepper and salt. Then lightly coat the cleaned sardines with the flour. Shake off any excess flour.
      Venetian sarde in saor: a sweet and sour sardine recipe with vinegar pickled onions, raisins and pine nuts... Lovely lunch idea to make a day in advance!
    5. Pour a little olive oil in a non-stick pan and place it over medium-high heat until hot. Add the floured sardines skin side down.
      Venetian sarde in saor: a sweet and sour sardine recipe with vinegar pickled onions, raisins and pine nuts... Lovely lunch idea to make a day in advance!
    6. Brown the sardines in the hot oil on both sides for 2 minutes. They should be golden and crunchy.
      Venetian sarde in saor: a sweet and sour sardine recipe with vinegar pickled onions, raisins and pine nuts... Lovely lunch idea to make a day in advance!
    7. Then take the pan off the heat. Put a layer of vinegary onions in a baking dish. Top with half of the sardines.
      Venetian sarde in saor: a sweet and sour sardine recipe with vinegar pickled onions, raisins and pine nuts... Lovely lunch idea to make a day in advance!
    8. Cover with another layer of onions and sardines again. Finish with the remaining onions.
      Venetian sarde in saor: a sweet and sour sardine recipe with vinegar pickled onions, raisins and pine nuts... Lovely lunch idea to make a day in advance!
    9. Let the sardines rest at room temperature for at least 5 hours until fully marinated. Serve cold.
      Venetian sarde in saor: a sweet and sour sardine recipe with vinegar pickled onions, raisins and pine nuts... Lovely lunch idea to make a day in advance!

    Easy Sarde in Saor: Sardines from Venice

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