Heavenly spread for crackers made from canned sardines, cream cheese, shallots, spring onions and lime juice.
Olala. Say the word “sardines” around people and you’ll get one of two reactions. Either they love her…or they don’t. I haven’t found many in-betweens.
Given the title of this recipe, we obviously fall into the “love her” camp. As in seriously love her. Fresh sardines, canned sardines, hey, I even like sardine sushi.
We also had pickled herring and if we were lucky, smoked dried herring in the fridge. (You think sardines are strong? You should try smoked dried herring!)
When Dorie Greenspan had a recipe for sardine rillettes in her fabulous Around My French Table cookbook, I couldn’t wait to try it. Oh darn. Well! I’ve made these several times and everyone loves them. Think of a cross between tuna spread and caviar.
If you’re unfamiliar with the French term “rillette,” it’s basically a pie, often made with pork that’s been slow-cooked in fat and shredded.
One of the things I love about these sardine rillettes is that the thinly sliced spring onions mimic the texture of pulled pork. They spread easily over crackers, my favorite way to eat them.
By the way, I’m always on the lookout for interesting recipes that call for canned sardines. If you have a favorite, please let us know in the comments.
Sardine rillettes
Recipe adapted and published with permission from Dorie Greenspan, author of Around My French Table.
ingredients
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2 (3.75 ounces) cans sardineswrapped in olive oil, drained
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2 1/2 ounces Neufchâtel cheese or cream cheese
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1/4 Cup chopped shallots, or chopped red onions soaked in lemon juice for a few minutes
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1 to 2 spring onions (Spring onions), white and light green parts only (about 3 inches from root), halved lengthwise and thinly sliced lengthwise
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1/4 Cup lime juice or lemon juice or to taste
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2 to 3 tablespoon chopped fresh herbs such as chives, parsley or dill
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prize cayenne
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Salt and fresh ground black pepper, taste
method
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Prepare sardines:
Remove the sardines from the cans. Using a small, sharp knife, carefully open each belly and back and unfold to reveal the spine. Remove and discard the bones. Cut off all tails and throw them away. Put aside.
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Mix the cream cheese, shallot, spring onion and herb mixture:
Place cream cheese or Neufchâtel in a medium bowl. Fold up and stir with a rubber spatula until smooth. Add the shallots, spring onions, fresh herbs and most of the lime or lemon juice and mix into the cheese with the spatula.
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Mash the sardines in the cheese:
Add the now boneless sardines to the cheese mixture. Mash the sardines with a fork and stir into the cheese. Add cayenne pepper, salt and pepper to taste. Add more lime or lemon juice to taste.
Either serve immediately (Dorie suggests refrigerating for at least 2 hours, but I didn’t find that necessary) or refrigerate. Can be made out up to two days in advance if you carefully cover it with plastic wrap so it’s not exposed to the air and refrigerate.
Serve on crackers, bread, celery sticks or as a filling for cherry tomatoes.
Links:
Salmon spread – here on Simply Recipes
Sardine Pâté – by David Lebovitz, with fresh sardines.
Salmon rillettes – also by David Lebovitz
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 81 | calories |
| 5g | Fat |
| 3g | carbohydrates |
| 7g | protein |
