Featured blog on foodpress.com today, 1/3/2011.
Late January is a dark time. The sky is dark, night comes early, the garden lies fallow. Food-wise it is a time of little local produce, but it is a time of creativity and a time to embrace a “use what you have in the pantry, or refrigerator” in my case approach to cooking.
Fresh whole Sardines, purple asparagus, black garlic, lots of citrus & fresh herbs. These all were leftovers from food styling jobs I worked on this past week.
“Sardines Oven-Broiled with Black Garlic, Citrus & Fresh Herbs”
1. I will spare you the images, but the first thing is to gut, clean, rinse and pat the sardines dry. (If you do not know how to gut and clean a fish, grab book or check online for how-to, get a sharp knife, don your kitchen gloves & get going. It is easy to do, just a bit messy, but worth the trouble.)
2. Place sardines on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Stuff lots of fresh herbs inside the fish. I used dill, thyme, tarragon along fresh mint. Surround fish with cut slices & wedges of oranges & lemons. Sprinkle over all with fresh black pepper and sea salt.
Sardines are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which reduce the occurrence of cardiovascular disease. These fatty acids may also help lower blood sugar levels a small amount. They are also a good source of vitamin D, calcium, B12, and protein.
Because they are low in the food chain, sardines are very low in contaminants such as mercury relative to other fish that are commonly eaten by humans.
Black garlic
Black garlic is a type of fermented garlic used as a food ingredient in Asian cuisine. It is made by fermenting whole bulbs of garlic at high temperature, a process that results in black cloves. The taste is sweet and syrupy with hints of balsamic vinegar or even tamarind.
3. Mash a clove of the black garlic with a tablespoon or so of olive oil. Dab this paste over the surface of each sardine. Turn oven to broil. Place oven rack in the bottom half of oven away from heat source.
4. Oven-broil for about 20 minutes depending on your oven. The skin of the sardines will become crispy and darkened and the meat should be flakey. Fresh sardines are not anything like the canned ones we are all familiar with. The meat is delicate, somewhat sweet and very delicious. This meal is simple & beautiful. Serve hot with a loaf of crusty bread to “sop” up the juices. A bottle of chilled, crisp Pinot Grigio rounded out the meal.
“Purple Asparagus”
First I trimmed the ends. Steamed, salted & peppered with a generous dusting of freshly grated Parmesan cheese these purple gems were fantastic.
Purple asparagus differs from its green and white counterparts, having high sugar and low fibre levels. Purple asparagus was originally developed in Italy and commercialised under the variety name Violetto d’Albenga. Since then, breeding work has continued in countries such as the United States and New Zealand.
“Winter Blackberries”
Keeping with my theme of leftovers and what seems to be a rather “dark dinner”, for dessert just fresh blackberries that were very plump and sweet right from the carton.
One of the great things about being a food stylist is that there is often wonderful foods left over from jobs which I get to bring home. The crew shares in this bounty and I hope everyone involved in the process appreciates it as much as I do. This was my first time to cook fresh Sardines and as much as I like the canned variety, these were not those! Purple Asparagus, Blackberries in winter…one lucky lady am I.
WOW!
Beautiful, as always! I love fresh sardines. Where did you get the black garlic?
I would love to tell you I found the black garlic at some little out-of-the-way grocery, but it was indeed at Whole Foods here in Nashville. It is fermented and usually used in Asian cooking but I was intriqued by its beauty so I thought I would try it out while I was shopping for other exotics for a photo shoot I was working on.
My question is the same as Nancy’s! Where oh where can I find Black garlic
(whole foods, perchance?)
love these fish photos, they remind me of your wonderful fish paintings!
Whole Foods indeed….on a display kiosk in the produce section last week. This black garlic is fermented and is usually used in Asian cuisine. But in doing some research I found that there is a fresh garlic type that is also “black garlic”…which might be fun to grow this coming season.
Quality blog post, stylish site layout, carry on the good work
Sardines? Thanks.
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Had a hard time leaving a comment. Very cool photos and information and I feel so, so, uh, little. I had never even heard of black garlic before.
Mary, great to hear from you. I, too, had never heard of black garlic until a few days ago. I was fascinated of course and had to see what it was all about. It is a bit weird and delicious.
The color or lack of was what I loved, black food…there are not many black foods. I works great in sauces and was great on the Sardines oven broiled…pungent, sweet, you can find at Whole Foods along with all the other trendy stuff. I googled it and found out a bit and that it is not so unusual in some places, but very much so here in Nashville. Try it…see what you think or taste. Thanks. t
You are the most creative, magnificent woman! These photos take me away! LOVE LOVE LOVE
Congrats on being featured. I’ve never even contemplated eating sardines… until now.
Amber, thanks. I had never eaten or cooked fresh sardines before. They are nothing like the canned ones. Different.
I love canned sardines I must admit. There used to be a deli in Knoxville, Tennessee in the Old City that served a
grilled cheese sandwich with canned sardines and it was divine. But fresh sardines…these were a real treat.
Once again, beautiful photos. It reminded me of one of the few times I have ever had fresh sardines, on the coast in Italy, only hours out of the sea.. delicious!
keep up the beautiful work..
Sardines is my fish of choice since I am vitamin b12 deficient (now taking http://products.mercola.com/vitamin-b12-spray/ ). I’ve also tried black garlic before and I must say it has an acquired taste.
I really enjoy the article post.Much thanks again. Awesome.}