Italian Sardines Scapece Recipe

Name: Italian Sardines Scapece
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 12 fresh sardines; 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, from 2 lemons; 1 tablespoon salt; 6 tablespoons olive oil; 1/4 cup flour, for dusting; 2 large onions, sliced; 1 cup white wine; 1 bulb garlic, chopped; 2 hot chile peppers (e.g., serrano or Thai); 1/2 cup finely chopped mint

Prep: 30 mins

Cook: 30 mins

Total: 60 mins

Servings: 4 servings

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Nutrition Facts (per serving)
507	Calories
25g	Fat
48g	Carbs
13g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories	507
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 25g	32%
Saturated Fat 4g	18%
Cholesterol 57mg	19%
Sodium 1726mg	75%
Total Carbohydrate 48g	17%
Dietary Fiber 2g	7%
Total Sugars 23g
Protein 13g
Vitamin C 36mg	178%
Calcium 184mg	14%
Iron 2mg	14%
Potassium 470mg	10%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

This is the Italian version of escabeche, the dish in which meat is cooked, then marinated in a vinegary, spicy sauce and served either cold or hot. Scapece (ska-PECH-ay) is a simple dish once you have split your fresh sardines; instructions are linked below. If you can't find sardines for this recipe, use mackerel, herring or any other full-flavored fish.

12 fresh sardines
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, from 2 lemons
1 tablespoon salt
6 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup flour, for dusting
2 large onions, sliced
1 cup white wine
1 bulb garlic, chopped
2 hot chile peppers (e.g., serrano or Thai)
1/2 cup fresh mint, finely chopped

Rinse the split sardines and lay them on a cookie sheet in which the lemon juice, salt, and water cover the whole bottom of the sheet. You want the sardines to be laying in a shallow pool of lemon juice-salt-water. Leave them there for 30 minutes, turning once.
Meanwhile, saute the onions and chiles in 3 tablespoons of olive oil until they are just starting to color around the edges. Add the vinegar and simmer until half the vinegar cooked away. Turn off the heat and set aside.
Pat the sardines dry and dust with flour. What kind of flour? Any will do, but we use a chickpea flour, which is used often in Southern Italy and adds a nutty flavor.
Fry the sardines in the rest of the olive oil over medium-high heat and set aside to drain on a rack.
Mix the chopped mint in with the onion and vinegar mixture, and lay some on a plate or shallow bowl. Top with the sardines. This dish is equally good covered in the sauce and left to marinate for up to three days in the fridge.