Sardine Crudo with Celery Hearts, Pine Nuts, and Lemon
- 8 fresh sardines
- 1 lemon
- 3 center ribs celery with leaves
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts
- To prepare the fish, lay out a sardine on your cutting board and begin by cutting off the head, or simply pull it off by bending it back and tugging.
- Next, using a small, sharp knife, cut a slit down the belly and remove and discard the innards.
- Gently pry open the sardine to butterfly the fish and lay it flat like a book.
- Run your fingers along and underneath the backbone, beginning with the head and moving toward the tail.
- Loosen the backbone and ribs from the flesh and lift, taking out the tail with the bones.
- Remove any stray bones with tweezers and cut the fillet in half lengthwise.
- Repeat with the remaining fish.
- Lay the lemon on its side and cut a slice off the top and bottom of the fruit, then stand it on a flat end.
- Using a sharp knife and following the curve of the fruit, slice down the sides of the lemon, removing all the peel and pith to reveal the fruit.
- Once the peel and pith are removed, hold the lemon in your palm.
- Cut along the membrane on each side of the individual sections and allow the flesh to fall into a bowl.
- When the lemon is sectioned, coarsely chop the flesh and return to the bowl.
- Squeeze the remaining membrane into the bowl to catch all the lemon juice.
- Set aside.
- Pinch off the leaves from the celery ribs and place in a bowl.
- You should end up with about 1/4 cup of celery leaves in all.
- Slice the ribs very thinly crosswise and add to the leaves.
- Season with salt and toss with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil.
- Add the pine nuts and toss.
- To serve, place 4 fillets, skin side up, on each of 4 plates.
- Drizzle each serving with 1 tablespoon of the remaining olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Divide the lemon and juice among the plates, spooning them on top of the fillets.
- Finally, top each with one-fourth of the celery and pine nut salad.
- Serve immediately.
sardines, lemon, center, kosher salt, extravirgin olive oil, nuts
Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/sardine-crudo-with-celery-hearts-pine-nuts-and-lemon-383826 (may not work)