The answer is so obvious in retrospect. I don’t know how I missed it.
But somehow I did. For the past few months, I have been struggling to answer the question, “How can make sardines so they taste really good?” Because these little fishies are a paleo wonder food. Canned sardines are a quick source of protein that is ready even when you didn’t plan ahead. They are bursting at the gills with omega-3s.
But I struggled to find a way to make them taste anything better than “bleh.” I made one successful sardine dish last summer, but I wasn’t impressed with any of the many dishes I created in the past few weeks with these fishy wonders. (Matt gave a two-thumbs up to a sardine frittata I made last Saturday but I think that’s because he was really hungry.)
I wanted a recipe that I actually really liked. It had to be something that I would look forward to for lunch – not a dish that made me feel sad and virtuous as I spooned it into my mouth.
Then last weekend, it occurred to me that I needed to treat the sardines as I would other canned fish – not as I would prepare fresh fish from the market. Bam! Once I made that realization, the rest fell into place.
As I said, it seems to obvious now that I would thoroughly enjoy this, as it is my favorites way to prepare tuna as well. I hope you like it too.
Sweet and Savory Sardine Salad
Coconut milk, 1/2 cup
Dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon
Wild caught skinless boneless sardines in water, 2 tins (3-4 oz of sardines per tin)
Granny smith apple, 1
Walnuts, ½ – 2/3 cup, chopped
Salt and pepper
- Create sauce by mix together coconut milk and mustard. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Drain sardines and mash them up a bit.
- Chop apple into small pieces.
- In a large bowl, mix sardines, apple, walnut and sauce. Stir well and chow down.
Serves 2.
