Happy World Food Day! I hope you celebrate by eating your leftovers, choosing a secondary cut of meat, getting smart with your food scraps and using up all your leftover herbs.
Food sustainability is my number one passion right now. And, just to give you a sneaky head’s up (hopefully my publisher’s not reading this!) my next book, out in March, is pretty much a vehicle for weaving this message into things. In a fun, colourful, nourishing way.
But for today, let’s turn to my love of sardines. Sardines are the best fish. Period. They’re super high in DHA, their edible bones are brimful of minerals, they are low in mercury and, this is the relevant bit right now:
Sardines are the most sustainable option at the monger.
They’re currently not over-fished, there’s little or no by-catch and you can eat the whole thing, heads, tails, bones and all (nose to tail, right there!). Oh, and they’re dirt-cheap. Sardines are the future, I tell you.
This first recipe below is a one-pan-wonder-for-one, easily expandable to serve more. I recommend solo cookers cook up a bunch and then setting aside to eat as below.
Oh, and know this: studies show oven-baking is the best way to preserve sardine’s healthy oils.
Oh, and sorry to interrupt again, you can buy sardines whole and fillet them yourself by cutting from just beneath the head down the belly and removing the gills and insides. Wash under running water and rub to remove blood and scales. Pat dry. (I personally eat the heads and