Stuffed Sardines in Tomato Sauce with Peas

A dish from Sicilian poor cuisine, tasty and healthy with a large amount of omega 3.

Every Sicilian town has its own recipe, some make them as rolls, while in Messina we propose them as sandwiches with a very tasty filling in between.

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

You have to clean the fish by removing the head and intestines simply by bending the head and turning, remove the central bone with your fingers, making an incision with the thumbnail starting from the top and continuing along the entire bone.

You can ask your trusted fishmonger.

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Stuffed Sardines in Tomato Sauce with Peas

Difficulty: Medium
Cost: Very cheap
Preparation time: 1 Hour
Portions: 4
Cooking methods: Slow cooking
Cuisine: Italian Regional
Region: Sicily
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

Stuffed Sardines in Tomato Sauce with Peas

1.3 lbs sardines (whole or 400 filleted, you can also use anchovies)
2 cups breadcrumbs (seasoned Sicilian style, see recipe)
3.5 oz caciocavallo (or provola)
4 tablespoons tomato puree
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
as needed water
2 eggs (100)
2 cups breadcrumbs (seasoned Sicilian style)
2 oz onion
4.2 oz extra virgin olive oil
17.6 oz tomato puree
as needed salt

A glance at the line

Tools

What we need to make

2 Bowls
2 Small bowls
1 Colander
1 Pan

Steps

Stuffed Sardines in Tomato Sauce with Peas

First, fillet the sardines, or buy them already filleted.
Rinse them and let them drain in a colander.
While they drain, prepare the Sicilian seasoned breadcrumbs, click here for the recipe.
Set aside 1/3 for the final breading.
Put the rest in a bowl, add: 4 tablespoons of EVO oil, 4 tablespoons of tomato puree, and enough water to make the mixture like a meatball.
Now, dice the caciocavallo into tiny cubes.
Take half of the anchovies, and spread the first half on a work surface, skin side down.
On each sardine, place a little filling and a little caciocavallo, press gently, and cover with another sardine like a sandwich.
Beat the eggs and put the rest of the breadcrumbs we set aside on a plate.
Dip the stuffed sardines first in the egg, letting it penetrate well,
then in the breadcrumbs, pressing well until it adheres all over.
Complete all the pairs of fish
Cooking: Tradition wants them fried in boiling EVO oil for 2 minutes per side
and let them dry on a sheet of absorbent paper.
But we 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 quick bake in the oven.
Preheat at 400°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 aside.
Meanwhile, as you cook the fish, prepare the sauce, chop the onion into pieces and sauté with a bit of EVO oil for about 3 minutes.
Then add the peas, even if they are frozen, and let them brown,
Add the tomato puree, half a glass of water, and a pinch of salt and pepper, cover and cook for 10 minutes on gentle heat.
After the time, immerse the sardines in the sauce and cook them only 1 minute per side
turning them very gently.
Serve hot with the pea sauce side dish.
Serve the Stuffed Sardines in Tomato Sauce with Peas piping hot.