Annoyingly my husband is just as smart a shopper as I am, if not even more frugal (unlike me, he doesn't get easily distracted from the task in hand). His bargain buy this week was three tins of sardines for £1 in Somerfield. He likes sardines. I do - sort of. I know we're all supposed to eat a couple of portions of oily fish a week but I struggle. They just taste very . . . oily and fishy and look rather miserable and unappetising unless you jazz them up a bit with other ingredients which is what I did with two of the tins (above).
You simply break them up roughly into a bowl, add a little grated lemon rind and a squeeze of lemon juice, a little chopped onion or chives and a couple of spoonfuls of chopped parsley, season with salt (not too much) and a generous grind of black pepper, pile them on wholemeal toast and you've suddenly got yourself quite a tasty little lunch for two particularly if you scatter a few cherry tomatoes round the plate.
How do you get on with oily fish? Are you a sardine-lover or a loather?
9 comments:
I love oily fish, particularly mackeral. I always have a couple of tins of mackeral in tomato sauce or spicy sauce in the cupboard, and put them on toast or a jacket potato - a tasty and quick meal.
Ooo, not sure about mackerel in tomato sauce NSM. Reminds me of pilchards but spicy sauce would be good . . .
Sadly I am a loather of almost every form of oily fish ( I don't know if fresh tuna/swordfish/shark steaks count ) I can occasionally ( about twice a year ) be persuaded to eat a few shreds of smoked salmon but thats about it.
I cannot stand pilchards, herring, trout, salmon, sardines, mackerel and all their odorous brethren. I just do not like " fishy " fish. I enjoy some shellfish and some VERY fresh, sweet smelling and tasting white fish. I wish I did like them, I know they are so good for you and brilliant value. And I have a friend who regularly goes fishing and catches loads of mackerel etc - so its even more galling that I can't abide them as I could have a lifetime free supply!
There are ways of disguising the fishy taste, anon. Japanese seasonings are particularly good with mackerel, for instance and the new book has a recipe for sardines that makes them taste just like tuna! (Yes, fresh tuna counts btw - and actually has greater health benefits than the tinned version but not swordfish or shark, I believe)
I love oily fish but strangely have never got to grips with tinned mackeral. It always seemed a bit dull somehow. I'll have to have a go at your recipe, which looks fantastic.
Incidentally, I love the plate! Would you mind telling me the make/pattern please?
Sorry, the first " anon " was me but forgot to put name on due to tiredness.
I understand what you are saying re : attempts to disguise, also your sardine pic does look lovely -but believe me, there is no way on earth that anyone could disguise oily fish enough for me to eat it. I can't even be in the same room when someone else is eating it, I start retching. Same with tinned tuna. I can't stand the stuff, really.
One of my most traumatic food memories dates back to going to an uncle's for tea, there was what I thought was a lovely sheperd's pie on the table, sadly when he started dishing it up it turned out to be tinned pilchards in tomato sauce under the mashed potato cover.... eeerrrk.
Hi greenlady - well I can see I'm not going to convert you! I had a traumatic pilchard experience or two too but it fortunately hasn't spilled over into a general dislike of oily fish.
And anonymous 2, I'm not sure I'd put tinned mackerel on toast. Don't know why, just feel it wouldn't quite work. But it's really good in a salad mixed with orange, chicory, olives and parsley. (Recipe in the book ;-)
Oh, and the plates. Very old ones from a charity shop. No name on the back, I'm afraid.
I love sardines, seeing them as great nutritional value for money.
I make a very thrify puttenesca sauce form them.
Use the oil to fry onion and garlic, then add the sardines and a tin of chopped tomatoes along with some olives. Tart up with what ever is about, cherry tomatoes, chopped parsley, capers, wine..
nb when using olives in a pasta sauce I always devote some of the olivey brine to the pasta cooking water as I think it imparts a nice flavour.
Very good tips, mimimo. Shall have to give that a whirl.
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