Name: Stuffed Sardines with Pine Nut Sauce (Taratorlu sardalya dolması)
Yield: Serves 4-6
Cuisine: Turkish
Ingredients: 12 large sardines, prepared; 2-3 cloves garlic, crushed with salt; 2 cloves garlic, crushed with salt; 3 oz/90 g pine nuts, crushed; 1 egg, beaten; salt and freshly ground black pepper; 2 teaspoons ground sumak; small bunch of fresh parsley, finely chopped; 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, crushed; 2 tablespoons olive oil; juice of ½ lemon or pomegranate; 1 slice stale bread, soaked in water; 1 tablespoon olive oil; 6-7 spring onions, finely chopped

Preparation info

Serves
4-6

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Classic Turkish Cooking

By Ghillie Basan

Published 1995

About

Large fleshy sardines are boned, filled and trussed for this delicious dish with its soothing sauce. Use a sharp knife to slit the underside of each sardine from head to tail. Remove the guts and carefully smooth the area around the backbone with your fingers to gently prise it out. Once released, snap it off at each end, keeping the rest of the fish intact. Rinse well under cold water.

As with all fish, these sardines are tastiest when cooked over a charcoal grill, but a convention