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Mary holding a variety of canned sardines.
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5 from 15 votes

The Best Sardines Recipe

Enjoy this delicious fish dish filled with fresh herbs, lemon juice, and a touch of olive oil.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time0 minutes
Total Time10 minutes
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: European
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 19kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 4.35 ounce Canned sardines, packed in water or olive oil You can use skinless and boneless sardines, but the sardines that have the skin and bones intact are more nutritious.
  • 1 Fresh lemon, juice and zest
  • 1 - 4 tablespoons Red onion or scallion, diced I love red onion, so I used an entire small red onion that equaled 4 tablespoons. You can start with 1 tablespoon as recommended in the original recipe to see what you like best.
  • 6 teaspoons Fresh herbs, finely chopped I used all Italian flat leaf parsley, since it was in season. The original recipe recommends 2 teaspoons Italian flat leaf parsley, 2 teaspoons basil, and 2 teaspoons mint. For dried herb amounts, see "Recipe Notes" below.
  • 1 teaspoon Extra virgin olive oil, optional Only add olive oil if your sardines are packed in water.
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1/8 teaspoon Fine ground sea salt Add more according to your tastes

Instructions

  • Add sardines to a medium bowl and flake with a fork into chunky pieces. (See video.)
  • Add remaining ingredients and stir gently to combine.
  • Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary.

Video

Notes

Using Dried Herbs:  If you decide that you want to use dried herbs in this recipe, decrease the total amount of herbs by half the fresh amount or less. However, do not exceed three teaspoons of dried herbs.
You can find the original recipe for this dish in The Longevity Kitchen cookbook by Rebecca Katz.  You can find links to Rebecca's cookbook, as well as this modified recipe and accompanying video, at https://marysnest.com/the-best-sardines-recipe/
Copyright © 2020 Mary's Nest, LLC, All Rights Reserved

Nutrition

Calories: 19kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 0.4g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 0.4mg | Sodium: 88mg | Potassium: 45mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 20IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 0.2mg