Why ¿little fish' are showing up more and more on menus

Friday, October 30, 2009

Sardines, herrings and anchovies are very much "in season" for chefs across the country looking to make a savory and sustainable statement with fish.

These species were long ignored or scorned because they were: 1) small; 2) oily and thus assertively flavored; 3) usually sold packed in yucky cans or bottles.

Today, chefs love that small fish come with equally small price tags and are a more eco-friendly choice than larger fish. Chefs celebrate the heart-healthy properties of fish oil and the distinctive flavor of sardines, herrings and anchovies. And forget the cans; modern shipping means we can get 'em fresh and of the highest quality.

For Brian Huston, chef de cuisine at Chicago's The Publican restaurant, tasting today's sardine and herring dishes is like eating supermarket apples all your life and suddenly discovering what it's like to bite into an artisan apple fresh off the farm.

"Sardines may seem scary, and here you are setting them down on the table," he said. "I think when people taste this food they get a new gauge of where it's at."

Huston likes the "bold and in-your-face flavor" of these fishes. He pickles herring and serves them with bacon on toast. He roasts sardines wrapped in grape leaves and serves them with pine nuts, grapes and yogurt. He likes the change of pace these fish offer.

"I could do halibut every night, but it's nice to get a high quality sardine," said Huston, who picks his up from Southwest Airlines at Midway Airport.

Over at Sepia, also in Chicago, Chef Andrew Zimmerman prepared the usual staff "cheat sheet" when he introduced a dish of "house cured sardines with local tomatoes and olive oil jam" on the menu.

"The sardine," it begins. "A small, much maligned fish that is popular the world over ... but not so much in the U.S. We hope to change that."

Maybe, just maybe, Sepia has done that to a degree.

"Sales outstripped my expectations," said Zimmerman, who described himself as "that crazy man who likes sardines."

His hook for getting customers to order? Pairing the fish with heirloom tomatoes in season. To get the tomato, you had to get the sardines, which were bathed in Champagne vinegar, then steeped in olive oil, garlic, thyme and parsley for two days.

"It worked," the chef added. "I guess people like sardines more than I thought."

Roasted Sardines With Bread Crumbs, Garlic and Mint

Serves 4

This recipe comes from the book "A16 Food + Wine" by Nate Appleman and Shelley Lindgren.

12 fresh sardines, scaled, cleaned

½ teaspoon coarse salt

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus additional for drizzling

4 stalks green garlic, trimmed, thinly sliced, or 4 cloves garlic, chopped

½ cup fresh, coarse bread crumbs

1 tablespoon salt-packed capers, soaked, minced

1/3 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves, torn by hand

Juice of half a lemon

Cut the head off 1 of the sardines. Open the fish and place it flesh-side down on a work surface. Press the palm of your hand along the spine to loosen it. Trim off the back fin. Turn the sardine over. Grasping the backbone at the head end, pull it out, toward the tail, in a single motion. Rinse the sardine under cold running water and check for any loose bones. Pat dry. Repeat with the remaining sardines.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Season both sides of the sardines with salt. Arrange the opened sardines on a baking sheet skin side up. Brush both sides lightly with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Roast the sardines, skin side up, until cooked through and beginning to sizzle, 3 to 5 minutes.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until softened, about 1 minute. Remove the garlic with a slotted spoon to a plate. Add the bread crumbs to the skillet. Cook, stirring, until the crumbs brown lightly, about 2 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and add the garlic, capers and mint.

Transfer the sardines to a serving platter. Sprinkle with the lemon juice. Spoon the bread crumb mixture over sardines and drizzle with olive oil. Serve hot.

Nutrition information per serving: 259 calories, 54 percent of calories from fat, 15 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 52 mg cholesterol, 12 g carbohydrates, 18 g protein, 983 mg sodium, 1 g fiber

Anchovy and Olive Salad

Serves 4

This recipe is from Randy Zweiban at Chicago's Province restaurant. Zweiban uses fresh anchovies that he packs in salt for four or five days and then immerses in olive oil. White Spanish anchovy fillets, available at specialty shops, may be substituted. The chef also likes small Arbequina olives from Spain in this dish. They, too, may be purchased at specialty stores. Substitute nicoise olives if the Arbequina are unavailable.

5 ribs thinly sliced celery

16 white Spanish anchovy fillets

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

½ cup aged Spanish sherry vinegar

¼ teaspoon salt

Freshly ground pepper

¾ cup Arbequina olives, pitted

4 ounces Manchego cheese, shaved

2 tablespoons chopped chives

Peel the celery to remove some of the heavy fiber, if desired. Thinly slice each rib on the diagonal. Rinse the anchovy fillets in cold water; pat dry with paper towels.

Slowly whisk the olive oil into the vinegar in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Toss the celery with some of the dressing in a bowl; divide the celery among four plates. Top with the olives. Lay 4 anchovies on the mixture on each plate. Garnish with cheese and chives. Drizzle some of the dressing around the plates.

Nutrition information per serving: 506 calories, 78 percent of calories from fat, 43 g fat, 9 g saturated fat, 68 mg cholesterol, 6 g carbohydrates, 22 g protein, 2954 mg sodium, 1 g fiber

Pickled Herring With Apples and Bacon on Toast

Serves 6 as appetizers

A recipe from Brian Huston, chef de cuisine at Chicago's Publican restaurant. He finds multigrain bread works well with this dish.

1 6-ounce jar pickled herring or herring in wine

2 tablespoons sour cream

2 teaspoons cider vinegar

1 teaspoon chopped chives

Freshly ground pepper

6 slices bacon

1 apple, quartered, cored, sliced

1 bunch watercress, chopped

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt

3 slices bread

Cut the herring chunks into pieces. Combine them with the sour cream, vinegar, chives and pepper to taste in a small bowl.

Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crisp. Drain; set aside.

Mix the apple slices, watercress, lemon juice and olive oil in a bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Toast 3 slices of bread; cut each in half diagonally, then top each piece with bacon. Top the bacon with the herring mixture. Finish each with a topping of watercress salad.

Nutrition information per serving: 182 calories, 56 percent of calories from fat, 11 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 13 mg cholesterol, 12 g carbohydrates, 8 g protein, 552 mg sodium, 1 g fiber

Pasta With Fresh Sardines

Serves 4 to 6

This recipe is from "Cooking From Above: Italian" by Laura Zavan. Bucatini is a thick spaghetti.

2 tablespoons raisins

12 to 14 fresh whole sardines, cleaned

1 bulb fennel, halved vertically

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

6 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

5 tablespoons pine nuts

2 pinches powdered saffron or a few threads

2 anchovy fillets, rinsed, chopped

½ teaspoon salt

Freshly ground pepper

1 pound spaghetti or bucatini

Soak the raisins for 15 minutes in warm water.

Remove the head and backbone of each sardine. Set aside.

Heat a large pot of water to a boil. Add the fennel and fennel seeds. Cook 15 minutes; drain, reserving the water. Slice the fennel.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onion; cook until softened, 2 minutes. Add 1 cup of the fennel cooking water. Heat to a boil; cook until reduced by half, 5 minutes. Add 4 tablespoons of the oil plus the raisins, pine nuts, saffron and fennel. Simmer 3 minutes. Add 8 of the sardines, reserving 4 as garnish. Add the anchovies, ¼ teaspoon of the salt and the pepper. Cook 5 minutes, stirring, over low heat.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet. Butterfly the remaining 4 sardines. Cook on both sides until they start to brown, 8 minutes. Remove the sardines; keep warm.

Heat the remaining reserved fennel cooking water to a boil in the saucepan (add fresh water if necessary); add the remaining ¼ teaspoon of the salt. Cook the pasta until it is al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain. Add the pasta to the skillet in which you fried the 4 sardines. Add the sauce and the rest of the sardines. Garnish with the reserved fried sardines.

Nutrition information per serving: 877 calories, 39 percent of calories from fat, 38 g fat, 6 g saturated fat, 53 mg cholesterol, 99 g carbohydrates, 35 g protein, 687 mg sodium, 8 g fiber