Easy Shortcut Supper

Tonight's dinner had highs and lows. For sake of readability, I'm going to break it down into separate posts, recipe-by-recipe.

Greens and Sardine Salad
Ingredients:
1 (4 oz) can sardines in olive oil
1/2 c. chopped onion
3 plum tomatoes, cut into 1-inch dice (1 1/2 cups)
2 1/2 tbsp virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
5 cups salad greens (Boston lettuce, escarole, and other varieties), trimmed, rinsed and thoroughly dried

1. Reserving juices and oil in can, cut sardines into 1-inch pieces. Place the pieces in a large salad bowl, and add the reserved juices and oil. Add all the remaining ingredients except the greens to the bowl and mix them gently.

2. At serving time, add the greens to the bowl, toss to coat them with the dressing and divide among four plates for serving. (Alternatively, arrange the greens on individual plates or on a large platter and spoon the sardine mixture on top.)


First off, a confession: Troy and I aren't really big fans of sardines. But we knew going into this whole endeavor that we'd have to keep open minds and that we'd more than likely have to eat things we don't normally care for. Although to be honest, I don't think I've eaten a sardine in the last 10 years and tastes do change over time. Don't quote me on it, but I think I read a factoid somewhere that your taste buds completely change over every 4 years or something like that, not to mention that they do get duller over time.

I tasted a chunk of sardine as I was making the salad tonight, and I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. It was fishy, but not overly so. Not quite as briny or salty as I thought it'd be; it more or less tasted like tuna. I'll add that I think being packed in olive oil makes everything taste better, so that's probably a big factor.

Cheats & Changes:
I made only a few minor changes. I used 2 small vine-ripened tomatoes from the farmers market in lieu of the 3 plum tomatoes called for in the original recipe. I didn't chop up the sardines either because they were boneless and skinless and I knew they'd break up into small pieces on their own when I tossed the salad. I also left out about a tablespoon of the e.v. olive oil since there was so much of it packed in the with the sardines.

The Verdict:
I liked it, but didn't love it. There are two servings left that neither of us wanted and sadly, since the greens won't keep well in the fridge, it's going to end up in the trash.
T: Didn't care for it (he's not a fan of canned tuna either), but he ate it.

Would I make/eat this again?
As printed, probably not. The addition of the sardines wasn't so wonderful that I'd go out of my way to keep them on hand, never mind that Troy won't eat them. And without them, it's otherwise just a basic green salad with a red wine vinaigrette.