Grilled Sardine, Tomato, and Mint Bruschetta

Name: Grilled Sardine, Tomato, and Mint Bruschetta
Prep time: 1 h 15 min
Cook time: 1 h 15 min
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Mediterranean, Italian, European
Ingredients: 473 milliliters lightly packed baby arugula; 8 slices (1/2 in. thick) ciabatta bread (6 oz. total); 59 milliliters thinly sliced fresh mint leaves; 2 larges garlic cloves, minced; 8 slices thin slices ripe, medium heirloom tomatoes; 1 teaspoons kosher salt; 4 whole sardines or American mackerel (1 1/4 lbs. total); 7 Tbsps About extra-virgin olive oil, divided; 1 teaspoons pepper; 2 Tbsps sherry vinegar, divided

The recipe Grilled Sardine, Tomato, and Mint Bruschettan is ready in about 1 hour and 15 minutes and is definitely an amazing dairy free and pescatarian option for lovers of Mediterranean food. This recipe serves 8. One serving contains 537 calories, 48g of protein, and 30g of fat. This recipe covers 32% of your daily requirements of vitamins and minerals. It works well as a pretty expensive hor d'oeuvre for The Fourth Of July. If you have lightly baby arugula, pepper, garlic cloves, and a few other ingredients on hand, you can make it.

Instructions

Clean fish, following steps 1 and 2 of "You Found the Fish," below.

Ingredients you will need

Fish

Combine garlic, mint, salt, and pepper with 1/3 cup oil in a large bowl. Spoon half into a medium bowl.

Ingredients you will need

Garlic

Pepper

Mint

Salt

Cooking Oil

Equipment you will use

Bowl

Add sardines to large bowl and pat them all over outside and in cavities with mint mixture. Set aside.

Ingredients you will need

Sardines

Mint

Equipment you will use

Bowl

Heat grill to high (450 to 550).

Equipment you will use

Grill

Add tomatoes to medium bowl with 1 tbsp. vinegar. Turn gently to coat.

Ingredients you will need

Tomato

Vinegar

Equipment you will use

Bowl

Brush bread with remaining 1 1/2 tbsp. oil.

Ingredients you will need

Bread

Cooking Oil

Oil cooking grate, using tongs and a wad of oiled paper towels. Grill fish, covered, until marks appear and fish release when nudged with tongs, 2 to 3 minutes; gently roll over and cook other side, about 2 minutes.

Ingredients you will need

Fish

Roll

Cooking Oil

Equipment you will use

Paper Towels

Grill

Tongs

Transfer fish with a wide spatula to a board. Grill bread, turning once, until edges are browned, 1 to 3 minutes.

Ingredients you will need

Bread

Fish

Equipment you will use

Spatula

Grill

Fillet fish (see step 4 below). Top each toast with arugula, then a tomato slice (leave juices behind), then a sardine fillet. Stir remaining 1 tbsp. vinegar into tomato juices, spoon a little over bruschetta (save the rest for other uses), and serve immediately.

Ingredients you will need

Arugula

Sardines

Vinegar

Tomato

Toast

Fish

You Found the Fish--Now What? Some markets will clean them for you, but if not, you can do it yourself easily enough--it just takes a little practice.

Ingredients you will need

Fish

SCALE AND CUT. Scrape off the scales gently with fingertips.

Equipment you will use

Kitchen Scale

Cut through both sides of belly 1/4 in. from edge, from collar to tail.

CLEAN. Pull out the guts; rinse the fish inside and out. Snip off fins.

Ingredients you will need

Fish

FILLET (RAW). Score fish all the way around collar just to the bone. Slide your index finger into cut on one side of collar and your middle finger into the other side. Slide your fingers along spine to tail, pulling fillets free.

Ingredients you will need

Bone

Fish

Cut off tail and pull out any remaining bones.

FILLET (COOKED). Make 3 cuts through flesh to bones: along the length of the spine (to one side of it), at collar, and just above tail. Slide knife under fillet to free it from spine, and lift it off. Pull up tail and lift off spine and head to free bottom fillet. Pull out any remaining bones.

Equipment you will use

Knife

Note: Find these little fish at some grocery stores, fish markets (you might need to order them), and Asian markets. If you live near a coastal town, head to the docks-fresh anchovies and smelt are often sold as bait. Look for fish with bright eyes, shiny skin, and a mild aroma. They're very perishable, so plan to cook them the same day.

Ingredients you will need

Fresh Anchovies

Fish

Equipment

Ingredients

Servings:

473milliliters

lightly packed baby arugula 8slices

(1/2 in. thick) ciabatta bread (6 oz. total)59milliliters

thinly sliced fresh mint leaves 2larges

garlic cloves, minced 8slices

thin slices ripe, medium heirloom tomatoes 1teaspoons

kosher salt 4

whole sardines or American mackerel (1 1/4 lbs. total)7Tbsps

About extra-virgin olive oil, divided 1teaspoons

pepper 2Tbsps

sherry vinegar, divided

Recommended wine: Pinot Grigio, Gruener Veltliner, Pinot Noir

Pinot Grigio, Gruener Veltliner, and Pinot Noir are my top picks for Fish. Fish is as diverse as wine, so it's hard to pick wines that go with every fish. A crisp white wine, such as a pinot grigio or Grüner Veltliner, will suit any delicately flavored white fish. Meaty, strongly flavored fish such as salmon and tuna can even handle a light red wine, such as a pinot noir. The Loveblock Pinot Gris with a 4.6 out of 5 star rating seems like a good match. It costs about 24 dollars per bottle.

Loveblock Pinot Gris

Loveblock Pinot Gris is a pale golden with hints of green. The 2013 vintage is a dry style with floral aromas and a hint of ripe pineapple. The palate reveals poached pear and blood orange, and finishes with a touch of citrus, good texture and rich mouth feel.