Sardines and capellini

A first rule of blogging: no one cares what you had for lunch. I think it’s pretty clear that the rule’s creator was not a sardinista.

Inspired by Crow’s sardine saga and Chris’s account of sardines and linguini, I tried putting sardines and capellini (angel hair) together for lunch. I started the pasta, smashed and chopped two cloves of garlic, let them brown (just slightly) in olive oil, and added a can of skinless and boneless sardines in olive oil, chopped parsley, and red-pepper flakes. The sardines smelled pretty funky in the hot oil. But the dish was a delight: far more flavorful than pasta with tuna and lemon, and sweeter than good old aglio e olio (which I make with anchovies). Parmesan and black pepper: nice additions, but hardly necessary.

I will be making sardines and capellini again soon, even if no one cares.

Related reading
All OCA sardines posts (Pinboard)

[I am happy and sad to see that sardinista already has some currency. I made it up all by myself, but too late.]

Sardines, paste, pasta

Here’s a recipe for sardine paste. Paste? As Steven points out, pâté would sound far more appetizing. Thanks, Steven.

And here’s a description of Nigella Lawson’s sardines and spaghetti, heralded as “the dish of summer.”

I know that when it comes to cooking, there is very little that’s new under the sun. In 2015 The Crow wrote about a then-forty-year-old memory of sardines and cavatini. And shortly thereafter, Chris at Dreamers Rise left a comment on this blog about making sardines with linguine. Which in turn inspired me to try sardines with capellini. Mangia.

Related reading
All OCA sardines posts (Pinboard)

[The article about the Lawson recipe describes a “tomatoey” dish, but there are no tomatoes in the recipe.]

Sardines of the Times

In The New York Times, Tejal Rao writes about canned fish. Among them, sardines:

Good canned fish can be eaten just the way it is, dripping with olive oil, but I like a tin’s worth of sardines seasoned with plenty of lemon zest, soft oregano leaves and some fried bread crumbs, broken up a bit and warmed all the way through as it’s tossed with cooked spaghetti, olive oil and maybe a ripe tomato, squashed between my fingers.

I’ve done sardines and pasta with garlic, parsley, and red-pepper flakes. The oregano is new to me. Must try.

Again and again, Matt Thomas’s Sunday Times digests point me to items I would otherwise miss — like these sardines. Thanks, Matt.

*

July 25: I made this dish last night, minus the tomato. Pretty bland. Some suggestions: add salt, pepper, and lemon juice, and be prepared to use more oregano than seems plausible. I think that thyme or lemon thyme might be a good substitute for oregano.

Related reading
All OCA sardine posts (Pinboard)

Pasta, sardines, and fennel

[“I’m thinkin’ ’bout a-this whole world.”]

The Crow, a sardine fan like me, sent me links for cooking videos focused on “the small oily fish.” Last night I tried this recipe, an impression of the Sicilian dish pasta con le sarde. Winner, winner, sardine dinner! Many flavors, many textures, all of them delightful. The only changes I would make: add some salt and pepper, and use two cans of sardines. One is not enough.

The video shows this dish coming together in about two minutes. It took me about an hour — a fair amount of assembly is required. A more organized cook would need less time. And would not forget the sardines until the last minute.

Thanks, Martha!

Related reading
All OCA sardine posts (Pinboard)

The fish on The Hill

On a recent trip to St. Louis, I finally scored some skinless and boneless sardines: four cans of Cento, at DiGregorio’s Italian Market. I left a lone can on the shelf. The cashier (manager?) and I commiserated (well, faux-commiserated) about how food faddists are taking our sardines.

Related reading
All OCA sardine posts (Pinboard)

[I can at long last appreciate bone-in sardines, but it’s gotta be skinless and boneless with pasta. The Hill is the Italian neighborhood in St. Louis.]

Canned fish

“Canned fish is one of the great delights of this shoulder season, as spring begins its ascent — and maybe particularly when so many of us are cooking with the cans in the back of the pantry”: The New York Times looks at sardines and tuna. Mainly at tuna. But the sardines are in there pitching.

Last night we used two cans of tuna in an OCA specialty: pasta with tuna and lemon. Come noon, sardines.

Related reading
All OCA sardine posts (Pinboard)

Go fish

[“Women working in the sardine cannery factory.” Photograph by Bernard Hoffman. Portugal, 1940. From the Life Photo Archive. Click for a larger view.]

On Saturday I posted a photograph of pasta aglio e olio and it spoke to at least two anchovy fans, maybe more. This photograph is for sardine connoisseurs, among whom I proudly number. Does that wording even make sense?

And speaking of making sense, or not: what is a “sardine cannery factory”? A place where they manufacture sardine canneries?

Related posts
Alex Katz, painter, eater Sardines for lunch, every day
City for Conquest (and sardines)
End of the U.S. sardine industry

[I proudly number sounds silly (which I knew) and makes sense. From the Oxford New American Dictionary: “include or classify as a member of a group.” Example: “the orchestra numbers Brahms among its past conductors.”]