Sarde in
Saor
Venetian sweet-and-sour sardines
Fried sardines rest under soft onions and wine vinegar, with raisins and pine nuts adding sweetness and a little bite.
Sardines under onions, raisins & pine nutsSweet onions,
Venetian sardines in saor.
Sarde in saor are fried sardines layered with onions and a vinegar dressing, a familiar Venetian antipasto. The onions soften and sweeten, balancing the sharp liquid, while the fish takes on the dressing during its rest. Raisins and pine nuts are a common addition.
The dish is served cool, often in small portions among the cicchetti, or little bites, of Venetian wine bars. The home version uses cleaned, boneless sardine fillets and rests overnight in the refrigerator. The vinegar is there for flavor; this is cooked fish to keep chilled, rather than a method for storing fish at room temperature.
Explore by food: Fish & seafood
Let’s make sarde in saor.
Six starter portions from cleaned, boneless sardine fillets. Allow a full day in the refrigerator after assembly.
Six antipasto portions, starting with 600 g ready-cleaned, boneless sardine fillets.
Fry the fish while the onions soften. The total includes 30 minutes of cooling plus a 24-hour refrigerated rest.
What you’ll need
- 600 gfresh sardine fillets, cleaned, boneless and patted dry
- 700 gwhite onions, thinly sliced
- 150 mlwhite wine vinegar
- 100 mlwater, for the onions
- 45 mlextra-virgin olive oil, for the onions
- 40 graisins
- 100 mlwarm water, for soaking raisins
- 25 gpine nuts
- 60 gplain flour, for dusting
- 500 mlsunflower oil, for shallow-frying
- ½ tspfine salt, plus more to taste
- ¼ tspblack pepper
Rest time includes 30 minutes for steam to escape and 24 hours refrigerated. The cleaned fillets, rather than whole uncleaned fish, are the starting ingredient. Frying and raisin soaking overlap onion cooking. Eat within 3 days of cooking; vinegar does not make the dish shelf-stable.
How to make it
- 01
Soften the onions
Put olive oil, onions, 100 ml onion water and measured salt in a wide pan. Cook partly covered over medium-low heat for 25–30 minutes, stirring, until soft without dark browning. Meanwhile soak raisins in their measured warm water for 10 minutes, then drain.
- 02
Make the dressing
Add vinegar, drained raisins, pine nuts and pepper to the onions. Simmer uncovered for 5 minutes; the onions should remain moist with a little dressing in the pan.
- 03
Fry the sardines
While the onions soften, check fillets for remaining bones. Dust lightly with flour and shake off excess. Heat sunflower oil in a second pan to about 175°C/350°F. Fry in small batches for about 2 minutes per side until golden and cooked through to 63°C/145°F. Drain on kitchen paper.
- 04
Layer and chill
In a shallow nonreactive dish, alternate sardines and the onion dressing, finishing with onions. Let steam escape for about 30 minutes, then cover and refrigerate promptly, always within 2 hours of cooking. Rest in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
- 05
Serve cool
Lift out small portions with some onions, raisins, nuts and dressing. Keep the remaining dish refrigerated until needed.
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