Don't scoff—we love sardines.
We've written before about how to eat sardines and the merits of all tinned fish beyond sad rent-week dinners—as it turns out, they can make for a pretty killer dinner-party hack. Plus, sardines are very sustainable, and they're full of nutrients like iron, calcium, B vitamins, and heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. While fresh sardines are especially delicious, they're not always easy to get your hands on—and anyway, the canned variety has its own benefits—namely, convenience and price. You can buy tinned sardines that are skinless and boneless, but the skin and bones are completely edible, supply a good amount of sardines' calcium content, and are soft enough that most people don't even mind (or notice) them.
Here are some of the easiest ways to make canned sardines feel less like apocalypse rations and more like a luxurious treat.
Serve On Toast
We've said it before and we'll say it again: toast is the best non-recipe meal in the world. And crispy, crunchy bread is a particularly perfect counterpart to the intensely salty flavor and rich texture of sardines and other canned fish.
This recipe for sardine toasts with tomato mayo and fennel is a creamy, crunchy, all-around satisfying dinner, while these Spanish piquillo pepper and sardine tartines are chic enough for entertaining. You can even make a big batch of this sardine tonnato spread to keep in the fridge for hanger-emergency toast purposes.
Make a Salad
Adding sardines to a salad is another easy way to serve the tinned fish. We love tossing chopped oranges, olives, and hard-boiled egg with whole (or chopped) sardines. You can also add sardines to a mixture of chopped sun-dried tomatoes and toasted almonds, or a combination of fresh mint, spicy chiles, radishes, and lime juice. To serve, take those combinations and throw them on—you guessed it—toast, or drop the mixture onto a big pile of greens.
Put Them In Pasta
Nothing has ever been made worse by pasta, and sardines are no exception. Just sauté them whole with a bit of oil and some garlic and throw them into pasta dishes—the bold sardine flavor works well with with capers, breadcrumbs, and lemon. We're especially fond of this Sicilian spaghetti dish.
Snack on them
The easiest way to get your canned sardine fix? Just pop a couple of them onto a grainy rye cracker, maybe add a swipe of mustard or aioli, and snack away. You can also eat 'em straight up, right out of the can—if you like them warm, just pop the opened can underneath the broiler for a minute or two before digging in.
Still easing into the canned fish lifestyle? Here are some more recipe ideas to get the wheels turning:
