Fresh Sardines are Back

Fresh sardines are all the rage right now: sustainable, delicious, cheap and full of the omega-3 fatty acids everyone's talking about. But finding fresh sardines can be difficult. They spoil rapidly and are managed in such a way that the season could be open one day and closed the next.

This can be frustrating, and I'd sought sardines for a month in vain until the government finally reopened the season July 1. Now I have my sardines -- at last!

What to do with these little fish? You could stuff and grill them, or you could fry them in olive oil and marinate them in a vinegary sauce to make an Italian scapece, which is like an escabeche. The sharp, spicy sauce preserves the sardines for several days in the fridge -- just the thing for a snack on a hot day.

Photo copyright 2009 Holly A. Heyser