Stuffed Sardines Lemon Sauce Beccafico

(“Sarde a Beccafico” - "Sardi a Beccaficu")

                     
Beccafico (Sylvia borin), a Sylvidae bird is larger, meatier and more exquisite than a sparrow, nests in Tuscany and passes over Sicily in spring and in the fall for the winter migration.
These birds were stuffed and cooked in the kitchens of the nobles and wealthy by the Monsu’, the famous Sicilian cooks serving the aristocratic families of the local upper class.
The Monsu’ having at their disposal an unlimited budget, a variety of ingredients, and a kitchen outfitted with the latest equipment, could attain a degree of gastronomic excellence, to satisfy the most sophisticated taste. They could produce dishes that synthesized the legacy of the cuisines of the Greeks, the Romans, the Jewish, the Arabs, the Normans, and of the Spanish.
Also, by using the abundant local produce, dairies, meats and local fish, the Monsu’ could make dishes of unsurpassed taste and to the best culinary traditions.
The working class is responsible for handing down the popular and simple Sicilian traditional cooking. Their cooking was made up with the seasonal and local harvested foods.  The freshness of the ingredients used and the right ripeness of the produce resulted in fragrant and first class dishes. By not overcooking the food, they left intact the original taste and smell.
When the kitchen helpers of the Monsu’ were relating the tales of the legendary official dinners and of the many courses offered, the fantasy of the people created dishes with the taste and appearance similar to the baronial fare, substituting the expensive component for common and lower priced ingredients.
In the popular cooking the Beccafico were substituted by fresh sardines, and a similar stuffing of the beccafico was used. The sardines were displayed with the tail up which gave a look like the birds that the aristocrats were nibbling.
The Sarde a Beccafico was no proxy to the original dish; it was the creation of a new and tastier delicacy, appreciated not only in the unsophisticated table of the people, but also in the baronial banquets.

 

Serves 4 to 6

 

Ingredients:

• 2 lb. sardines
• 1 medium size onion, diced
• 1 ½ cups of toasted breadcrumbs
• 4 anchovy fillets, chopped. If salted wash salt out
• Juice of 2 lemons
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• ½ cup of olive oil
• 2 oz. Pinoli nuts
• 2 oz. currants or raisins
• Chopped parsley
• Salt and pepper     
• Bay leaves
• Large slices of onions, 1 for every sardine
• Slices of lemon for garnish
• An oiled pan 12 inches X 9 inches

 

Preparation

The Sardines
Cut off the head of the sardines.
In a large basin with cold water, immerse sardines, and scale them under water (to avoid a big mess) using a teaspoon or your nails. Discard interior and by inserting the finger under the bone, eliminate it. Open the sardines leaving the two sides connected and the tail intact. Wash and drain.

The Stuffing
Sauté the onions in ½ cup of olive oil and after 7 minutes add breadcrumbs. Cook for 2 minutes and set on the side in a large bowl.
When breadcrumbs cool off, add juice of 1 lemon, 1 tablespoon of sugar, fillets of anchovies, pinoli, currants and parsley.
Add salt and pepper to taste.

The Beccafico
Gently tap dry the sardines fillets with paper towels,  place 1 tablespoon of breadcrumb on the large side of the fillet(opposite the tail), fold and roll up and arrange stuffed sardines in the oiled pan, tail up.
Alternate a slice of onion and a bay leaf between each Sarda a Beccafico.
Wisk remaining olive oil with lemon and sugar, and sprinkle over sardines, shake leftover breadcrumb mixture on top.
Bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees.
Serve hot or at room temperature. Garnish with sliced lemon.