Not for the faint-hearted this one… Cold sardines are Fishy with a capital ‘F‘! Crunchy too, as you get the bones and all… OK, you may be able to tell that I am not a big fan, but if fish/Omega 3 is your thing, this tapa goes down a treat with a cold beer on a warm sunny day – the tang of the sardine combining beautifully with the refreshing tomato, and the bread underneath to soak up the juices and provide a bit of extra sustenance – it’s really a meal in itself!
So, I might ask to swap for something else, but what would you do if you took your place at a bar in Spain and this arrived with your beer?
PattyN
9 Apr 07 at 12:26 pm
What a beautiful photo. My mouth started watering the moment I saw it, and I’m in the middle of eating my breakfast. What would I do if it arrived with my beer? I would hope that I’m with Ben and I could eat his portion as well as mine!
Stuart
9 Apr 07 at 7:40 pm
I didn’t like sardines ..until.. I ate something similar to this in Spain.
celia s
9 Apr 07 at 9:31 pm
I would need to drink at least 6 bottles of cerveza before I could manage these tapas! Que repugnante!
OzSimon
10 Apr 07 at 7:02 am
I’d give it a try. In fact I’m reaching for a beer as I type……:)
Ben
10 Apr 07 at 9:41 am
So most of you are coming out in favour of the Sardines! I will happily donate mine to whoever is sitting next to me!
Helen Palmer
10 Apr 07 at 10:24 am
These always look like little jewels, but when they get to your own plate and you actually have to eat them, I’m not quite so sure!
Great photo, though! I’ll just take the beer …
rod
10 Apr 07 at 10:37 am
… the tomatoes look really nice though.
totallyken
10 Apr 07 at 12:24 pm
Love em. Sardines, anchovies, boquerones, the whole lot, I love them. Took some time to get used to them but living near Santoña, which is the sardine capital of Spain, you just have to get into them. Try them bbq’d and it’s a whole other story. Mmmmm.
Edith
10 Apr 07 at 1:45 pm
Hmmm, unusual combination to say the least, byt yes I would try them! After all, the proof of the pudding is the eating.
On a side note Ben, have you ever tried marlin? I know this sounds kind of trite but it does taste like chicken! No ‘fishy’ flavor at all, and well worth a try even if fish is not your cup of tea.
Ben
10 Apr 07 at 10:11 pm
Never tried Marlin. I quite like ‘white’ fish, i.e. lubina or dorada – but not so keen on the really strong cold stuff like this!
Stuart
11 Apr 07 at 3:33 am
Neither was I until I tried it the “Spanish way”. How are you with raw or semi-raw fish?
Edith
11 Apr 07 at 8:33 am
If you put marlin into a curry dish you could really fool people into believing it was chicken!
I’m not sure which category it belongs to though, but it’s not a ‘white’ fish. The texture of the meat is a bit like tuna steak.
Ben
11 Apr 07 at 9:05 am
Stuart – raw fish is a biiiig no no!
greytop
11 Apr 07 at 6:55 pm
Sardines (from a tin unfortunately) on toast was a regular item when I was growing up in England. These look much nicer! If the bones are too much it is very easy to fillet the cooked fish, and none of the flavour would be lost
Stuart
12 Apr 07 at 12:57 am
Hows this for a fish dish then Ben…
http://enperu.blogsyte.com/blog.aspx?b=220
Ben
12 Apr 07 at 6:55 am
Stuart – ‘raw pacific fish’… urrgghhh!!!
Stuart
13 Apr 07 at 3:27 am
If you like ají and you like fish, there’s nothing that can beat it.
greytop
15 Apr 07 at 3:02 pm
That sounds delicious Stuart – bit on the lines of gravlax (marinated salmon) but spicier. The one I never tried in Norway was lutefisk – they marinate white-fish with lye for several days and cook before eating!