Clever ideas to dress up a tin of sardines?

[stirling]

And make them edible?
I really do want to eat more fish and it seems tinned fish is the most affordable way, but... Bleurrgh...
Thanking you in advance

I like to take a tin of sardines in brine or oil (not sauce), mash it up with balsamic vinegar and add some chopped spring onions. Then do sardines on toast with it under the grill. Delicious lunch!

The only ways I will eat tinned sardines are in fish cakes or mashed up with mayo and Worcester on toast.

I prefer tinned mackerel. No difficulties eating that!

A beret and a tutu?

I have them on toast, delicious!

Does it have to be sardines? What about a salad nicoise using tinned tuna?

I've made lasagne with tinned tuna and leeks, which was very nice, and I guess sardines would work just as well.

I've also made fish cakes with tinned tuna and salmon. Again, why not try sardines instead. I make them with fresh ginger, garlic and fresh coriander and serve them with a teriyaki, chilli and lime juice dipping sauce.

I could never face them either OP but this River Cottage recipe is lovely.

Tiedyetie we need a photo

Really ripe tomato salad dressed in a simple vinaigrette and a pinch of sugar if needed. Open the sardines along the back and remove the bones and insides, scrape off the silver skin if its off putting. Really nice with a few new potatoes on the side or grilled on toast.
To make a pate, prep sardines as before and blitz with a couple of anchovies, spring onion, garlic and capers or Kalamata olives and lemon juice. It might need a glut of olive oil. Fab on crunchy lettuce, crackers or toast.

I often make a spaghetti puttanesca but use sardines instead of anchovies.

To keep things really simple, a recipe I taught my student son:

Serves 4

1. Put 500g pasta on to boil
2. Gently fry 2 cloves of garlic chopped in a tablespoon of olive oil until soft - if using sardines in olive oil just drain the oil into the pan
3. Add chilli (fresh/powder/flakes/whatever) and black pepper
4. Splodge of tomato puree, 2 tins of sardines and some dried oregano
5. Cook up for a few minutes while pasta finishes
6. Add pasta with some of the cooking water

He cooks it often for him and 3 friends - costs a couple of quid at most.

To fancy it up at home, I add olive, capers, and fresh parsley

Good quality tinned fish in tomato sauce, mashed on a plate, then spread on thick white buttered toast.

Post war treat from the 1940's. Yummy.

Get really nice ones, that are skinless and boneless, in olive oil. Cost a bit more than basic, but are still only a pound a two a tin, or if you get fancy Spanish deli ones, you could pay a lot more than that. Eat with slices of nice crusty bread.

The second recipe Hugh makes on this video is lovely, with potatoes, and based on a scandi recipe I think. I’ve done it a few times.

Life's too short to unnecessarily make yourself eat things you think are bleurgh! Tuna is less bleurgh imo.

I would go for briefly stirfrying with lots of garlic and chilli, then have with pasta or French bread and a chilled glass of white.

Don’t force yourself to eat sardines if you really don’t like them.

Tinned mackerel is almost as cheap as sardines and you might find you prefer the flavour of that.

A nice wrap dress?

Oh so many great suggestions!
I'm so so pleased. Thank you everyone, going to t4y most of these out. How on earth do you think of them? I'm hopeless with food and creativity

Mixed through spaghetti with capers, onions, raisins and tomatoes. Top with tuatara flaked almonds and breadcrumbs with lemon zest. My take on a traditional Sicilian dish. A regular meal in my house, I also use the sardines in spicy tomato sauce too.

Mashed on toast with cheese and tomato grilled on top. Or mashed on toast with tomato. Yum!

Tuna is less bleurgh

tinned tuna doesn’t have the health properties that sardines do, they’re not oily for a start and the bones in sardines are good for you

i out anchovies in a tomato sauce for pasta, you can put them in a bolognaise sauce

sardines in tomato sauce from Lidl are delicious on toast for lunch

Nice recipe with tinned mackerel
realfood.tesco.com/recipes/mackerel-and-red-lentil-fusilli-with-creamy-pepper-sauce.html

These recipes sound delicious, thanks for sharing everyone!

So sorry. Dreadfully confused. I thought the title was how to dress up AS a tin of sardines.

Can’t help with the sardines because I eat them straight from the tin, but I would also recommend trying tinned mackerel. The taste is better IMO.

A really quick meal we have is a tin of mackerel in sauce (decant to a bowl and heat in microwave) served with spicy rice and a vegetable. You get plenty of sauce for the meal and it’s super quick to make.

This. It's delicious. You could do it without the breadcrumbs, but they do make a difference. I always whizz up stale bread so I have a constant supply of breadcrumbs in the freezer.
And I just use dried oregano (and chilli flakes if I don't happen to have a chilli).

Slivers of anchovy, layered with sardines or sild on toast or pizza.
With mackerel or pilchards mash the fish together, perhaps more anchovy and capers if liked.