TT Thomas TownsendChef · Melbourne

Sardines in Saor with Fennel, Raisins and Pine Nuts

A Venetian classic with a chef’s twist: crisp sardine fillets on a sweet-and-sour fennel, raisin and pine nut saor.

By , head chef · Updated

Prep
25 min
Cook
40 min
Total
1 hr 5 min
Serves
4
Level
Medium
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Seared sardine fillets arranged in a star over sweet-and-sour fennel saor with golden raisins and pine nuts on a blue plate

Sarde in saor is one of Venice’s great dishes. Fried sardines are layered with onions cooked in vinegar so they keep for days. My version adds fennel and fennel seed, plumps the raisins in wine and vinegar, and sears the sardines to order so the skin stays crisp.

It works as a starter, as part of a share table, or on toast with a glass of something cold.

Ingredients

Serves 4

Fennel saor

Sardines

Method

Saor

  1. Bring the wine and vinegar just to the boil, add the raisins, take off the heat and leave to soak.
  2. Lightly toast the ground fennel seed in a wide heavy pan, add half the oil and infuse on low heat for a minute.
  3. Add the fennel and onion with a pinch of salt and sweat without colour for 10 minutes. Add the garlic and remaining oil and cook gently for another 15–20 minutes until completely soft.
  4. Drain the raisins, pour their liquid into the pan and reduce by half. Stir the raisins back in and season. It should be wet and glossy, so add more oil if needed.
  5. Toast the pine nuts in a dry pan until golden.

Sardines

  1. Pat the sardines very dry and season the skin with salt.
  2. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan over high heat. Lay the fillets in skin-side down and press flat for 10 seconds. Cook for 1–2 minutes until the skin is crisp, then flip for 10 seconds.
  3. Spoon warm or room-temperature saor onto plates, arrange the sardines on top and finish with pine nuts and fennel fronds.

Chef’s notes

  • The saor is better made a day ahead and keeps for a week in the fridge.
  • Ask your fishmonger to butterfly the sardines. It saves a lot of time.

Questions about this recipe

What does saor mean?

Saor is Venetian dialect for ‘flavour’. It describes the sweet-and-sour onion and vinegar preparation used to preserve fish in Venice.

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