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Smoked Sardine Salad

This is a recipe from the Sardine Factory in Monterey, California. My longtime friends Ted Balestreri and Chef Bert Cutino smoke fresh sardines for this dish, but smoked canned sardines are delicious as well. However, I enjoy regular canned sardines packed in olive oil in this dish as well.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    serves 4

Ingredients

1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 lemon, peeled and very thinly sliced
2 tablespoons drained capers
1 large hard-boiled egg, quartered or roughly chopped
Two 3.7-ounce cans smoked sardines in olive oil, drained, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley
Toast points or toasted ciabatta slices, for serving

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Toss the red onion, lemon slices, capers, chopped egg, and sardines in a large bowl. Drizzle the vinegar over the salad, sprinkle on the parsley, and toss gently to combine without further breaking up the sardine pieces.

    Step 2

    Mound the salad on a platter, surrounded by the toasts.

Cover of the cookbook featuring the author with a table full of fresh herbs and vegetables.
Reprinted with permission from Lidia's Italy in America by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali. Copyright © 2011 by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali. Excerpted by permission of Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. Buy the full book from Amazon or Bookshop.
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