I have wanted to try sardines for many years now, having read several articles about them, and seen many recipes and television shows about how good they are, and how good they are for you. I was somewhat awe struck with the idea and a bit intimidated.
I had this impression however, that they were going be very salty strong little fishes, I guess maybe I was thinking they tasted more like anchovies, which I love, but they are used 
sparingly. I managed to purchase a can of sardines at a Spanish market I found last year and the can remained in my pantry until last night. I must have finally been in the mood.....it was a warm spring evening, we were going to open a good bottle of wine, and play cards on the balcony. That always gets my brain working, what we need is good appetizer to go with that. I thought of the can of sardines and enlisted my husband to help. He was all jazzed about trying them.
sparingly. I managed to purchase a can of sardines at a Spanish market I found last year and the can remained in my pantry until last night. I must have finally been in the mood.....it was a warm spring evening, we were going to open a good bottle of wine, and play cards on the balcony. That always gets my brain working, what we need is good appetizer to go with that. I thought of the can of sardines and enlisted my husband to help. He was all jazzed about trying them.
Get all the components of the dish ready and then assemble.
1 loaf bread, thinly sliced, Ciabatta or baguette style
1 fresh garlic clove
Juice of 1/2 Lemon
Sea Salt
1 jar roasted red peppers, well drained, and cut into bite size pieces
1 tbsp capers
Very good quality olive oil
1/2 half a white onion
Prepare the sardines. Open the sardines and dump the can upside down on to a plate and separate them. They are very delicate so be careful. They were packed only in olive oil, and there was quite a bit of it, so I got rid of a some of it. Then I took half a lemon and gave them a little dressing. We sampled a tiny bit and found that they needed salt. A sprinkling of good quality salt made all the difference.
Prepare the sardines. Open the sardines and dump the can upside down on to a plate and separate them. They are very delicate so be careful. They were packed only in olive oil, and there was quite a bit of it, so I got rid of a some of it. Then I took half a lemon and gave them a little dressing. We sampled a tiny bit and found that they needed salt. A sprinkling of good quality salt made all the difference.
Slice the white onion in very thin slices.
Drain the peppers and slice into bite size pieces.
Drain the capers.
Brush the bread with olive oil, and bake in oven only until they start to turn slightly brown. Depending on your oven this might take 5 to 10 minutes. (I have also used my toaster oven for this if I am only making a few.) Immediately upon removing the crostini from the oven take the garlic clove and brush over the toasts. The heat will cause the garlic to melt on the bread.
Next top with all your ingredients, the sardines, capers, peppers. Once they are all assembled drizzle very lightly with a little fresh olive oil.
There are lots of strong flavors going on there. I hope you enjoy them!
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