Go Back
+ servings
Salted sardines and anchovies
Print Recipe
5 from 4 votes

Salted sardines and anchovies (Σαρδέλες)

An easy way to prepare and serve salted sardines and anchovies
Prep Time20 minutes
Course: Light meal, meze, Side Dish
Cuisine: Greek
Servings: 4 people
Author: Mia Kouppa

Ingredients

  • 5 sardines, preserved in salt
  • 5 anchovies, preserved in salt
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar approximately
  • 1/4 cup olive oil approximately

Instructions

  • To prepare the sardines, use a butter knife to carefully scrape off the salt, and the skin of the sardines. Remove any tough parts of the fish. You don't need to remove the bones; these are relatively soft and small and can be eaten. Watch video here. You also don't need to remove all of the skin as some of it will also come of when you are rinsing the sardines.
  • Prepare the anchovies in the same way that you do the sardines, but be even more careful. These smaller fish are more delicate and scraping too roughly will break them apart.
  • Once you have cleaned your sardines and anchovies, rinse them under cold running water, one by one. Use your fingers to gently clean them, wash away any remaining salt and rub off any remaining skin. You can certainly leave some skin on .
  • Place your sardines and anchovies together in a shallow dish (or keep them separate if desired) and pour the red wine vinegar over the fish to almost entirely cover. You may need a bit more than the listed amount to do so.
  • Allow your fish to soak in the red wine vinegar for 5 - 10 minutes. Then, pour off the vinegar and cover with olive oil.
  • Your sardines and anchovies are now ready to serve.
  • Enjoy!

Notes

Although the bones are entirely edible, you still want to be a little careful because they can be sharp.  We would not advise feeding these to very young children.
Once prepared and covered with olive oil, the sardines and anchovies will keep for several weeks in the refrigerator.
To serve, encourage people to take some of the olive oil onto their dish, along with the fish.  This is delicious for bread dipping!