Italian Recipe

Sarde in Saor

Venice’s sweet-and-sour sardines: fried, then layered under slow-cooked onions with raisins and pine nuts, and left to mellow for a day or two.

Venice’s sweet-and-sour sardines: fried, then layered under slow-cooked onions with raisins and pine nuts, and left to mellow for a day or two.

40 min Prep Time

40 min Cook Time

6 Servings

medium

Instructions

Cook the onions in 60 ml of oil with a pinch of salt over the lowest heat, lid ajar, until completely soft and pale gold, never browned, about 25 minutes.
25 min
Add the wine, then the vinegar; simmer 5 minutes so the sharpness rounds. Stir in raisins and pine nuts and take off the heat.
6 min
Pat the sardines dry, season, and dredge in flour, shaking off the excess.
10 min
Fry the sardines in hot oil in batches until golden and crisp, about 2 minutes a side. Drain on paper and salt lightly while hot.
12 min
In a ceramic or glass dish, layer: onions, sardines, onions, sardines, finishing with a thick blanket of onions and all the juices.
6 min
Cool, cover, and rest in the refrigerator at least 24 hours (48 is the bacaro standard). Bring back to room temperature to serve.
10 min
Serve with grilled polenta or good bread, a toothpick, and something cold and bubbly.

Chef's Tips

Onions outweigh fish: The classic ratio runs to equal weight or more onion than sardine. If it looks like too much onion, it is exactly right.
Respect the rest: Day-one saor tastes like fried fish with sharp onions. Day-two saor tastes like Venice. Plan accordingly.
The white version, in saor bianco, skips raisins and pine nuts and leans on vinegar alone; some bacari serve both and let you argue.

Nutrition Facts

Calories: 642.52
Protein: 36.89g
Carbohydrates: 31.79g
Fat: 40.22g
Fiber: 3.29g

Per serving

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