Sardines stuffed with spinach and gaeta olives
Instructions:
- ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 1 tablespoon sliced garlic
- Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1 pound spinach
- 1 teaspoon sea salt, plus more for sprinkling
- Juice and grated zest of 1 lemon plus more lemon juice for drizzling
- ½ cup pitted and chopped Gaeta olives or other black olives
- Freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 16 fresh sardines (about 2¾ pounds), cleaned (see Note)
- 1 teaspoon sea salt, plus more for sprinkling
- Heat a sauté pan over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, put ¼ cup of olive oil in the pan. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and red pepper. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring, until the garlic is lightly browned.
- Add the shallot and cook for about 1 minute. Add the spinach and sprinkle with a little kosher salt. Fold the spinach into the warm oil until just barely wilted.
- Add the juice of 1 lemon to the pan and then immediately remove the pan from the heat. Turn the spinach out onto a baking sheet or shallow pan. Refrigerate the spinach until cool. When it is cool, fold the olives into the spinach and season to taste with kosher salt and pepper.
- In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, process the parsley with ½ cup of olive oil and the lemon zest. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Split the sardines along their bellies and remove the interior bones. Leave the top portion of skin connected so the fillets stay attached to both head and tail.
- Lay the sardines on a work surface, skin side down. Be sure both fillets are facing up and, using a butter knife, scrape the fillets to remove all pin bones.
- Season the fillets with the sea salt and pepper. Put 1 tablespoon of the spinach filling in the center of each sardine.
- Grab the tail and fold the fillet over, from tail to head. Slip the tail through the open mouth of the sardine to make a “package.â€
- Arrange the stuffed fish on a lightly oiled baking sheet and drizzle each fish with a little olive oil. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the flesh is cooked through.
- Put 4 sardines on each of 4 serving plates and sprinkle with sea salt. Squeeze a little lemon juice on each sardine and drizzle a tablespoon of the parsley-lemon oil on each plate. Serve warm.
- Before cutting the sardines, rinse them under cool, running water and, using your fingers, rub off the thin, light scales. Pat the sardines dry with a kitchen towel; any remaining scales will come off with the towel. To remove the innards, pinch the gills together and then pull them out. The guts may come with them. If not, split the sardine open and run your finger along the belly to remove them.