I can believe that the Spanish consider fish, including sardines and tuna, packed in olive oil, to be a delicacy. I can believe this because these tiny Spanish sardines on these Piquillo Pepper and Sardine Tartines are absolutely delicious. Top the sardines with roasted piquillo peppers, capers, lemon and sweet onion and you will create a beautiful bite.
Tip : Raw onions can be unpleasant, to remove that strong flavor, place the onions is a small bowl and pour over enough white wine vinegar to cover and set aside for 5-10 minutes (and up to an hour) before you use them.
Ingredients
- 1 can Spanish sardines boneless
- 1/2 small sweet onion finely sliced
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 piquillo pepper cut into strips
- 1 tspn capers
- 1 lemon half cut into wedges
- 1 tspn Asian chili sauce or other hot sauce
- 1 demi baguette sliced on an angle and grilled under a broiler
- olive oil to drizzle baguette slices
- 1 clove garlic peeled
Instructions
- Gather all ingredients before starting recipe
- Slice baguette on a diagonal/allow 2 slices per person
- Peel and cut a small sweet onion in half, slice very thin slices and place the slices in a small dish. Cover the onions with white wine vinegar and set aside until ready to use.
- Slice whole roasted piquillo pepper into 1/2" strips.
- Half and then quarter one whole lemon.
- Open a tin of Spanish sardines.
Toast
- Drizzle olive oil over each side of baguette slices and toast under a pre-heated broiler 1-2 minutes per side
- Rub each side of toasted baguette with peeled garlic clove
Assembly
- Top each toast slice with 2-3 sardines in a single layer, this will depend on the size of the sardines.
- Squeeze a bit of lemon juice on the sardines and drop tiny amounts of chili sauce or other hot sauce on the sardines.
- Sprinkle capers over sardines, then add a few thin slices of marinated onions and finally top with a slice of piquillo pepper. Add a few more slivers of onion and a few capers on top.
Author Notes
Spanish sardines are a must for this tapas. I did try it with another type and found that sardines were very large and had a very strong flavor. These Spanish sardines are mild and they are tiny. I found them at Pisces Gourmet Seafood Specialty Shop on Yonge Street in Rosedale.
