Sardines Beccafico in Sauce with Peas

A dish from Sicilian peasant cuisine, tasty and healthy with a lot of omega 3.

Each Sicilian city has its recipe, some make them as rolls, while in Messina we propose them as a sandwich with a very flavorful filling in the middle.

They are then presented in 2 different ways: simply filled and then fried or baked, or as in this case, in sauce with peas.

The fish must be cleaned by removing the head and the guts, simply by bending the head and turning, removing the central bone with fingers, by incising with the thumbnail starting from the top and continuing along the entire bone.

You can ask your trusted fishmonger to do it.

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Difficulty: Medium
Cost: Very affordable
Preparation time: 1 Hour
Portions: 4
Cooking methods: Slow fire
Cuisine: Italian Regional
Seasonality: All seasons

934.55 Kcal

calories per serving

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Energy 934.55 (Kcal)
Carbohydrates 85.38 (g) of which sugars 8.91 (g)
Proteins 48.19 (g)
Fat 45.98 (g) of which saturated 7.10 (g)of which unsaturated 7.96 (g)
Fibers 6.72 (g)
Sodium 1,288.14 (mg)

Indicative values for a portion of 400 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA^* and FoodData Central^** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.

^* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ^** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov

Ingredients

Sardines Beccafico in Sauce with Peas

1.32 lbs sardines (whole or 400 filleted, you can also use anchovies)
2 cups breadcrumbs (seasoned Sicilian style, see recipe)
3.5 oz caciocavallo cheese (or provola cheese)
4 tbsp tomato sauce
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
to taste water
2 eggs (100)
2 cups breadcrumbs (seasoned Sicilian style)
2.1 oz onion
2.1 oz extra virgin olive oil
17.64 oz tomato sauce
to taste salt

Watching your figure

Tools

What we need to make the

2 Bowls
2 Small Bowls
1 Colander
1 Pan

Steps

Sardines Beccafico in Sauce with Peas

First, fillet the sardines, or buy them already filleted.
Wash them and let them drain in a colander.
While they are draining, prepare the Sicilian seasoned breadcrumbs, click here for the recipe.
Take 1/3 of it and set it aside for the final breading.
Put the rest in a bowl, to which you add: 4 tablespoons of olive oil, 4 tablespoons of tomato sauce, and as much water as needed to make the mixture like a meatball.
Now cut the caciocavallo into very small cubes.
Divide the quantity of anchovies in half, and spread the first half on a work surface, skin side down.
On each sardine, place a little filling and a little caciocavallo, gently press, and cover with another sardine like a sandwich.
Beat the eggs and put the remaining breadcrumbs that we had set aside in a plate.
Pass the stuffed sardines first in the egg, making it penetrate well,
then in the breadcrumbs, pressing well until it adheres everywhere.
Complete all fish pairs
Cooking: Traditionally, they are fried in hot olive oil for 2 minutes per side.
and let them dry on a paper towel.
But you can also cook them in an air fryer for the minutes indicated by your appliance.
But to make them even lighter, I recommend a strong and fast bake in the oven.
Preheat it to 392°F, place the fish on a baking tray with parchment paper and a drizzle of oil, and bake for 3 minutes per side. Then take them out and set them aside.
In the meantime, while you cook the fish, prepare the sauce, chop the onion into pieces and sauté with a little olive oil for about 3 minutes.
Then add the peas, even if they are frozen, let them brown,
Pour in the tomato sauce, half a glass of water, a pinch of salt and pepper, cover, and let it cook for 10 minutes over low heat.
After this time, immerse the sardines in the sauce and cook for only 1 minute per side
turning them very gently.
Serve hot with the sauce and peas garnish.
Serve the Sardines Beccafico in Sauce with Peas hot and ready.