Sardines in Pizzaiola Sauce

To prepare sardines alla pizzaiola, start by cleaning the sardines if you bought them whole. Rinse them quickly under running water 1. Remove the head with a gentle downward motion, make a cut along the belly and open it with your fingers 2 and remove the entrails 3.

Gently open each sardine like a book following the central bone with your fingers, then remove the bone by pulling it out carefully 4. Once cleaned you will obtain about 1.8 lb (800 g) of sardines. Pat the sardines dry with kitchen paper and set them aside. Wash the cherry tomatoes, dry them and cut them into wedges 5. Also wash the parsley, dry it thoroughly and finely chop it with a knife. Line a round baking pan of about 9 inches (22 cm) in diameter with parchment paper and brush it with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle with a little breadcrumbs 6.

Then sprinkle some chopped parsley 7. Arrange a first layer of sardines opened like books on the bottom, slightly overlapping them, with the skin side down 8, so as to cover the entire surface of the pan. Add a drizzle of oil 9.

Evenly distribute half of the cherry tomatoes 10 and some of the breadcrumbs 11. Add part of the chopped parsley, spreading it everywhere 12. Season with salt and finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Make a second layer arranging the sardines this time with the skin side up 13, then pour a drizzle of oil 14, the remaining breadcrumbs and the cherry tomatoes 15.

Finish with parsley 16, a pinch of salt 17 and a grating of pepper. Bake in a preheated conventional oven at 320 °F for about 30 minutes. In the last 5 minutes turn on the broiler/grill function to obtain a golden, crispy gratin. Remove the sardines alla pizzaiola from the oven and let them rest for 5 minutes before serving 18. Enjoy them hot or warm.