sarde ripiene al forno

Quite impressive for simple dish. Buy a number of fresh cleaned sardines (2-3 per person), if you can buy them butterflied, do that, if not, when you get home all you do is open the cavity and run your thumb nail under the spine (starting from where the head was) to the end of the fish and breaking off the bone just before the tail. So you basically have one flat filet of sardine meat with the [decorative] tail at the end. Lightly flour each side and lay them flat on a work surface skin side down. In a large mixing bowl combine breadcrumbs, one beaten egg, a fair amount of

grated cheese, fresh parsley, finely chopped nuts if you have them, hot pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Mix that all together (add breadcrumbs if too soft, add some white wine if too dry), spoon a bit of the mixture on each of the sardine fillets, roll them and lay them flat, seam side down in an oiled baking pan. Once they're all packed pour some white wine on bottom of the pan and bake covered for about 10 minutes then uncovered for another 10-15 minutes. You can prep these well in advance but pop them in the oven last minute so they can be enjoyed warm. This is a delicious treat I learned from my Zia Luisa in Sardinia a few years ago. Give it a shot and I can guarantee that people who aren't even devoted seafood fans will love this.