Saltimbocca
Try this classic Italian recipe for veal escalopes wrapped with prosciutto, sage & lemon. Serve it with crusty bread to mop up the delicious pan juices
Sicilian stuffed sardines
- Preparation and cooking time
- Prep:
- Cook:
- Easy
- Serves 4
Skip to ingredients
- 85g fresh breadcrumb
- 50g black olivestoned and roughly chopped
- large handful parsleyroughly chopped
- small handful mintleaves, finely chopped
- 1 lemonzested and sliced
- 4 anchovyfillets
- 1 garlic clovecrushed
- 25g pine nut
- 25g sultana
- pinch of chilli flakes(optional)
- 1 large fennel bulbfinely sliced, fronds reserved
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 8 sardinesbutterflied with tails kept intact
- 8 bay leaves
Nutrition: per serving
- kcal585
- fat34g
- saturates7g
- carbs23g
- sugars7g
- fibre3g
- protein47g
- salt1.6g
Method
step 1
Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Put the breadcrumbs, olives, parsley, mint, lemon zest, anchovies and garlic in a food processor, and blitz until everything is roughly chopped. Tip into a bowl and stir through the pine nuts, sultanas, chilli flakes (if using) and a good grinding of black pepper. Arrange the fennel slices in a small roasting dish and drizzle with a little olive oil.
step 2
Working methodically, lay each fish fillet, skin-side down, on your work surface, cover with some of the crumb mixture, then drizzle ½ tsp olive oil over each. Roll up the fillets, leaving the tails sticking up. Use a cocktail stick to secure, then stuff a little more of the crumb mixture into the sides.
step 3
Arrange the rolled-up sardines on the fennel, scatter over the remaining crumb mixture, then pop the slices of lemon and bay leaves in the gaps. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil and season with sea salt and pepper. Bake in the oven for 20 mins until the fish is cooked through and the crumbs are golden and crisp in places. Serve scattered with the fennel fronds.
