'SARDI A BECCAFICU' A CATANISI' In order to imitate the Sicilian nobles, who a long time ago used to hunt a type of birds named ‘beccafichi’, and then taste them cooked with a delicate filling, plebeian made do with ‘sardines’, a much more affordable product, which they filled with bread crumbs and few more ingredients.
It seems that this is how ‘Stuffed Sardines’ were born; this recipe is nowadays exalted in the Sicilian cuisine, with different interpretations, from Palermo, to Catania and Enna.
We decided to share with you the recipe of the Catania Style Stuffed Sardines, hoping it will make you enthusiast!
1 Kg of sardines; 150 gr of bread crumbs; 150 gr of grated caciocavallo or pecorino (sheep's milk) cheese; 3 anchiovies in salt (these may also be skipped in order to create a more simple filling); 2 cloves of garlic; 3 eggs; salt, pepper, extra vergin olive oil, wine vinegar, a bit of parsley.
Make a cut lengthways on the underside of the sardines, open them, remove the back-bone and the head, taking care to let all the fillets attached together. Get rid of all the other bones, wash the accurately and put some salt all around them.
Mix the bread crumbs with the cheese, add the anchovies (the anchovies may also not be used, by creating in this way a more simple filling), already cleaned up of the salt and melted in two spoons of oil, a clove of ground garlic, a bit of parsley, salt and pepper.
Add one beaten egg and blend the mixture accurately. Spread it on one half of the sardines and cover them with the remaining part.
Softly press the surface of each ‘beccafico’ to make sure that the two parts stick together. Cover them in flour, dip them in beaten egg and fry them in abundant hot oil.
A very common variation to this recipe, within the island, consists in frying the ‘beccafico’ up to when they get golden coloured and then transferring them in a pan with previously sautéed tomato sauce for approximately 10 minutes.
Well done and Enjoy!
Wine pairing: Etna Bianco DOC, as a Carricante IGT Planeta and a Archineri DOC Pietradolce.
Rapida la spedizione e buono il prezzo del vino ordinato. Grazie dei prodotti d'omaggio!
Veloci precisi e puntuali
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