Aperitivo on the fly: fried up tinned sardines

The weather is warming up as we all continue to quarantine, so I make an Aperol Spritz and prepare a tin of sardines as a late afternoon snack: a simple commodity so easily becomes a little luxury. We can’t be in Italy or strolling the vineyards as my husband and I had planned for this weekend, so I prepare for us aperitivo on the fly.

The sardines are tinned in neutral oil. They’re lovely and thick, but I must handle these gently as they are a bit tender. I am still able to halve each filet, which works in my favor due to their width, but is not a necessity. The process is simple enough: dust in flour, dredge in a beaten egg and coat with breadcrumbs.

What you need:

• Tinned Sardines
• Flour
• Egg (beaten; 1 egg for 1 tin did the trick)
• Breadcrumbs (I used panko; I love how crispy panko breading gets)
• Herbs, Lemon, Sea Salt

Carefully drain the sardines of their oil and lift each filet out of the tin. If they are very thick, like mine were, carefully slice down the middle if you are able to. If you find they are flaking easily, let the sardines be as they are.

Lightly coat them in flour, then the egg, and lastly the breadcrumbs. As for the breadcrumbs, I seasoned them with salt, pepper, and a bit of parsley. Heat a pan, and once it is thoroughly heated, add a neutral oil (I opted for rapseed oil, this time). Once the oil is well heated and will pop for a droplet of water, add the sardine filets. Allow to get golden brown on each side.

Serve with fresh lemon and coarse salt, and possibly an Aperol Spritz to get in the spirit.

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There you have it, aperitivo on the fly.