“Sarde a beccafico” is one of the best known and loved traditional Sicilian recipes. The “beccafico” that gives the recipe its name is a small sparrow-like bird that feeds on sweet ripe figs. In days gone by only the nobility used to shoot these birds, which were cooked with a delicious stuffing and then served with their beak and tail feathers sticking upwards. In order to imitate the Sicilian nobles, plebeian replaced the small birds with ‘sardines’, a much more affordable product, which they filled with bread crumbs and few more “poor” ingredients.
They can be served as a main course with a side of boiled potatoes, but also as a sharer during the antipasti.
Sarde a Beccafico
Course: Main Course, AppetizersDifficulty: Medium4
servingsIngredients
Fresh Sardines 2 pounds
Olive oil 6 spoons
Currants 1/3 cup
Parsley 2 spoons (minced)
Black Olives 6 (Pitted and slivered)
Bay leaves 2 dozen
Breadcrumbs 1 cup
PIne nuts 1.3 cup
Anchovy fillets 8 (finely chopped)
Water
Lemon 1 (juice and zest)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Scale and clean sardines removing intestines and backbones
- In a skillet, toast the breadcrumbs with 2 spoons of olive oil
- When it becomes gold add pine nuts, currants, parsley, anchovy, olives and lemon zest
- Add 1 or 2 spoons of olive oil if it’s dry and mix the ingredients
- Put the mixture with a spoon in the middle of each sardine and roll up from the head to the tail
- Place the sardines in the baking dish closer, place a bay leaf between each sardine and pour the lemon juice
- Cook for 15 minutes and serve at room temperature!
Enjoy it!
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