Sardine Recipe Guide!

To celebrate our newest Portuguese canned sardines hitting our site from Conservas Pinhais, we have put together a canned sardine recipe guide. Canned sardines are extremely nutritious and versatile - did you know a  3.2 Oz can of sardines has 20g of protein, 300g of calcium (more than a glass of milk) and is a powerful source of vitamin D, B12 and magnesium!

To show off their versatility check out the following tinned sardine guide including:

• Spiced Sardine Empanadas
• Sardine Paté with Celery and Chives
• Sardine Fried Rice
• Sardine Pasta

Spiced Sardine Empanadas

DOUGH:

• 2 cups flour
• 3 1/2 tbs butter
• 1 egg
• 7 tbs water 
• ½ tsp salt

FILLING:

• 5 oz can of  tuna
• olive oil
• 2 Pinhais sardines 
• parsley
• ½ onion
• 1 red pepper
• 1 clove of garlic

PREPERATION:
For the dough mix all ingredients together and let rest for ½ hour. Roll out to a thickness of about 3mm and cut out round circles (about the size of a teacup). For the filling, cut all the ingredients into small pieces and always fill and fold an empanada with about a generous tablespoon of the filling. Bake in the oven at 375 degrees for about 7 minutes until golden brown, bake a bit longer if required.

In the end pair these amazing empanadas with a great tomato sauce rice or a rich salad.

You will definitely surprise your guests!

Sardine Paté w/ Celery and Chives

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup creme fraiche
• Fresh chives
• Fresh parsley
• Pumpernickel (very dark rye bread)
• Cherry tomatoes
• 1 red onion

PREPERATION:
Using a rubber spatula, paddle together the sardines (including the olive oil) with the creme fraiche. Either top with the chives and parsley, or serve them alongside. Serve with pumpernickel (or another very dark rye bread), tomatoes, and 1 sliced red onion.

Sardine Fried Rice

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup cooked white rice
• 1/2 cup snow peas
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1 carrot
• 1 medium piece of ginger
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 green onions
• 2 tbs soy sauce
• 2 tins Pinhais Sardines in olive oil
• 2 tbs rice vinegar
• 2 poached eggs
• Splash of vegetable oil
• Basil and cilantro

PREPERATION:
Finely mince the garlic together with the ginger and cut the carrots into a julienne. Thinly slice the green onion separating the whites from the greens. In a super hot wok, begin by frying the ginger, garlic, and green onion whites. Next, fry in the peas, carrots, snow peas, and the sardines. Add the rice and continue frying until everything is hot and coated in the flavorful oil. Dress with the soy and rice vinegar, mix and be sure that the rice is evenly seasoned.

Garnish with basil and cilantro. Top with the poached eggs.

Sardine Topped Gazpacho

CREAMY SOUP:

• 4 Ripe Tomatoes
• 1 Cucumber
• 1 Small Red Bell Pepper
• 1 Small Onion
• 2 Garlic Cloves
• 3 Tablespoons of Red Wine Vinegar
• Black Pepper
• Salt

CHOPPED GAZPACHO:

• 1 Ripe Tomato
• 1/2 Cucumber
• 1/2 Onion
• Olive Oil
• Salt
• Black Pepper
• Dried Oregano

TOPPING:

• 1 can of Pinhais sardines in olive oil 

PREPERATION:

1. Add every ingredient to the blender and blend until silky smooth.

1. Thinly chop into tiny pieces every vegetable and season well.
2. Add the mix to the bottom of deep bowls and cover with the creamy mix.
3. Lay one or two sardine fillets on top of the soup and sprinkle some more dried oregano and olive oil.

RECIPE NOTE:
Eat with some toasted bread or nice crunchy croutons!

Sardine Pasta

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 Can of Sardines 
• 1/2 Bag of Spaghetti
• 1 Handful of Arugula
• Sun-dried Tomatoes in Oil
• 1 Big Sliced Garlic Clove
• Nice Drizzle of White Wine
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• Salt

PREPERATION:

1. Fill a big pot with 3/4 of water, add a generous handful of salt and leave it on high heat until it starts boiling.
2. On the side, thinly slice the garlic cloves and roughly chop the sun dried tomatoes.
3. Grab a pan, add a little bit of oil from the sardines can, the chopped tomatoes and the garlic cloves. Let it sizzle for a few seconds until slightly golden (careful not to burn).
4. Add a drizzle of white wine to refresh the mix, let the alcohol evaporate for a couple minutes on medium heat and season well with salt and pepper.
5. Once the water is boiling, add the spaghetti and cook it al dente (about 6 minutes).
6. Once the pasta is cooked, remove it from the pan and save a little bit of the starchy water to thicken the sauce.
7. Add the spaghetti to the tomatoes mixture in low heat and mix around with some of the water you reserved to thicken the sauce it a little.
8. Serve the pasta on the plates and add the arugula and the sardines.

RECIPE NOTE:
When you're serving the pasta on the plate, you can add some olive oil to it for flavor (you can even use some of the can that is already sardine flavored).

Also, this can also be delicious with cherry tomatoes and basil!

Sardines on Toast

INGREDIENTS:

• Canned sardines in tomato sauce
• 4 1-inch-thick slices of cornbread
• 1 garlic clove, halved
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced

• Portuguese extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

• Sea salt
• Fresh ground black pepper
• Chopped parsley leaves (optional)
• Lemon squeeze (optional)

PREPERATION:

1. Toast the cornbread (on both sides) either on a pan or a toaster.
2. While the toast is still warm, rub the garlic clove and drizzle olive oil, top with the thin slices of yellow pepper and red onion and top with the tomato sardines, 1 per each slice.
3. To finish, season with some salt, fresh ground pepper a squeeze of lemon juice and sprinkle some parsley leaves.
4. Open a bottle of white or rosé wine, serve on some glasses, relax and enjoy!

RECIPE NOTE:
Portuguese cuisine is all about flavor and resourcefulness, it’s about using what you have, what grows near you and what you can get locally. If you don’t have cornbread, don’t worry – just use some nice sourdough or white bread. Don’t have parsley? Use cilantro. Make it work, make it flavorful and make it fun!