A quickfire-inspired sardines meal

I'm bummed that I'm not watching the Top Chef reunion on TV right now. The show, one of my favorites, usually comes on at 10 p.m. so after getting home from the gym at 9, I cooked dinner. When I finished eating I was all ready to watch my favorite chefs rehash the superb Season 6. But it came on at 9 instead of 10 tonight. So while the Top Chefers were reminiscing about surviving quickfire challenges and cooking with unfamiliar ingredients, I was doing the same in my kitchen. On a much more amateur scale.

And what was the secret ingredient in my quickfire challenge? Canned sardines.

Tonight I finally cooked the canned sardines that have been sitting in my cupboard for more than a month. I bought them after reading about the health benefits since sardines are full of omega 3s. I also had recently read about sardines being a good environmental choice because they aren't overfished or high in mercury. So I bought a can but was too afraid of what was inside to actually eat them.

Canned sardines, like canned tuna or salmon, are great in a pinch. Well, that's exactly how I used them tonight. I didn't have much to eat and wanted something quick. My first surprise was that they weren't slimy. They looked like canned tuna and smelled slightly like tuna too. When I first bought them I typed "how to cook canned sardines" into Google and there was no consensus. They could be eaten right out of the can (um, no thank you) or warmed up on the stove; remove the bones or leave them in because the bones are small and soft and therefore edible; eat them on a cracker with mustard or mix them up with mayonnaise like tuna fish. With that in mind, I threw them in a pan with some oil and their own juices. Then I put the warmed sardines on a toasted tortilla with mustard, topped with grape tomatoes and fresh basil (from my herb garden!). I pulled all the vegetables out of the crisper to see what I had and quickly cut up a carrot, zucchini, red pepper and celery to be steamed. Everything was done in 10 minutes. If this were a quickfire challenge I would have plated before the buzzer but talk about an uninspiring meal. 

The sardines weren't bad. They just weren't good either. They didn't have much taste. I felt like I was eating a dry white fish -- like tuna but with a less distinctive smell and taste. Thank god for the spicy mustard or else the whole meal would have tasted really bland. I'd buy them again because they're cheap and convenient. But I don't see any Top Chef wins in my future.

My finished meal. Think Padma would want to try it?

Canned sardines are on the menu

Yes, those are canned sardines in my cupboard. Most people's reactions would be "eww" and that's my reaction, too. But I keep reading about the benefits of eating small fish. Sardines are healthy (full of omega 3s), low in mercury (since they're at the bottom of the food chain) and sustainable (they aren't overfished). So this week after hearing an interview with a fisheries professor on Fresh Air, I blogged that I would try them.

Today at my local farmers market, I was heading out with a bag overflowing with produce when I saw the fish guy. I usually walk by his stand because the fish he sells is local and fresh ... ie: expensive. But today I stopped to see how much he was selling salmon for ($18/ lb). As I read the board listing the fish he had for sale, near the bottom I saw sardines. At $3 a pound they were a bargain. But thankfully "OUT" was written in red letters next to the name. I took that as a sign that I shouldn't try sardines this week.

But my next stop was the Whole Foods across the street to get the rest of my groceries. As I walked along the back aisle I came face-to-face with a display of sardines. I couldn't ignore the message: I had no excuse to not buy sardines.

But as with all shopping, there were choices and I didn't know what to buy. I tried calling my sister because she had told me she likes canned sardines, but she didn't answer. So I went with skinless and boneless over smoked and packed in water instead of oil. Then when I got home I noticed that they're from Morocco so they might not be as environmental as I thought. According to Seafood Watch, the "greenest" sardines are from the Pacific.

I found this article from The Atlantic about sardines becoming more popular for basically all the reasons I'm considering (I mean, going to) eat them. The author is a fan, so although he prefers fresh over canned, maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised. The box says "ready to eat" but even though I came home hungry, I didn't rip open the can and dig in. Besides the ick factor I'm trying to overcome, I don't know what to do with them. Should I eat them with a meal or as a snack? I'm waiting to hear back from my sister to get her advice. For now, they'll stay in my pantry.

Two takes on sardines

One of the things I really enjoy about blogging is the conversations it starts with my family on topics that don't normally come up. Like, I don't usually ask them about their fish preferences. But after my post yesterday about wanting to try eating smaller fish because they are healthier for you, my sister and dad both shared personal stories about eating sardines.

When my sister was in college she lived for two years in Portugal. The interview I heard on Fresh Air mentioned that grilled sardines are popular in Portugal, and sure enough she said she ate them all the time. In the seaside Vila do Conde, "The women used to walk through the town early in the morning with baskets of sardines on their heads. I can still hear them yelling, 'Sardinas, pecininas' (small sardines). They are quite delicious when grilled and I've even eaten them canned here because they are a great source of minerals, especially calcium."

All right, I'm sold. I'm so trying some sardines. Maybe I'll start with canned sardines since that would be easier. But wait, then I got an e-mail from my dad with a different take on sardines. I like the way he tells stories (maybe I got the writing bug from him), so I'm going to quote his whole e-mail.

"OK so here's a little story from when I was a yute, er, youtthh. I used to hang out over at David Sanford's house because they were a cool family and of course mine was not. Mr. Sandford ate canned sardines, so there were times when I was at the Sanford house and I would eat canned sardines too. Ugh. I can't believe now that I actually ate them. No to sardines. Double no to anchovies (they stink). And herring? - forgetaboutit."

Delicious versus ugh. Hmm, well I guess to each his own. I'll have to try for myself to see who I agree with.

Grilled sardines anyone?

Driving home from work today, I caught a segment on Fresh Air on a topic that is close to my heart -- or rather, stomach. Terry Gross was talking to Daniel Pauly, a professor at the University of British Columbia, about the best fish to eat both for your health and the environment. I wanted to embed the video but apparently I'm so computer illiterate that I couldn't make it work (or I need a new computer). But here's the link to her interview on the NPR site: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120049590

I've blogged about this before so some of what he said was familiar: wild Atlantic salmon is best; eat fish low on the food chain like sardines and mackerel, etc. But I learned a few new tidbits, like the reason wild salmon is better for the environment than farmed salmon. He said salmon farms don't produce fish, they consume fish since salmon are carnivores and eat fish lower on the food chain. So in salmon farms they grind up fish to make food for the salmon, for a net loss of fish. The good news is that catfish and tilapia (which I like to eat) are herbivores so those are good farmed options, along with shellfish (oysters, mussels, clams).

He's concerned about overfishing and made the point that sushi and sashimi used to be only for special occasions but now some people eat it every day. He made the dramatic comparison that eating a tuna roll is as bad for the environment as driving a Hummer.

But the line that got me was: "I think we should act as citizens, not just as consumers." Now I kinda want to take a stab at eating those low-mercury, small fish that Europeans eat, but that have a stigma associated with them in this country like anchovies, sardines and herring. Anchovies make me think of greasy pizza and my only association with herring is the phrase "red herring" (which I learned from one of the best movies ever, Clue). And sardines, well ... canned sardines, need I say more? I'm embarrassed to say that I don't even know what these fish look like, even though I'm sure my eyes have passed over them in the fish counter. But I'm making a promise to myself that I'm going to try one of them. If Europeans like them, they can't be that bad. I'll let you know how it tastes.