Sarde a Beccafico: Stuffed Sardines
Sarde a beccafico is another specialty of Sicily. It consists of sardines that are cleaned and then filled with a mixture of breadcrumbs, garlic, parsley, raisins, and pine nuts. Before baking, the sardines are rolled up with the filling and pierced with a toothpick. The sardines taste pleasantly sweet, with bay leaf being the dominant spice.
In Sicily, these prepared sardines are consumed as a more festive appetizer or even as a main course. As with other dishes, several different recipes are used here, named after the cities where they originated. In addition to the basic preparation of sardines, you can taste, for example, the variant from the city of Messina, which contains capers, from Catania, which contains cheese, or you can have a sardine skewer, in which a stuffed sardine, bay leaf, and a slice of onion are alternately skewered.
You will come across stuffed sardines in restaurants, but much more often in markets. Two pieces of sardines cost 1 euro at the historical market del Capo or at the historical market Ballarò alike.
Bon appétit!
Mercato di Ballarò
