Sardine Casserole

Because I regretted very much not to buy enough sardines last time when I got only 4 sardines (fried sardines with horta), I swore myself I would buy ENOUGH next time. Unfortunately I had not seen them in any fish markets since then. Yet, finally I found them. They were from Portugal and looked OK. So I ordered 20 good-looking sardines. Then, a lady waiting to be served next to me in the fish market suddenly approached me and asked me how I cook sardines.
“I have never tasted or cooked this fish,” the lady, around age 60, said.
“It is very good. You can fry them.”
She said, “Oh, I don’t eat fried fish.”
She seemed health conscious.
“You can bake them, too,” I suggested.
She smiled and ordered 2 good-looking ones. At that time, I also decided to bake the half of the 20 sardines I purchased. This dish, sardine casserole, is very easy to prepare. Other fish fillets, such as red snapper, cod, sea bass and drum fish, can be used equally fit for this dish.

Ingredients:
10 sardines

2 cups panko (bread crumbs)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup finely chopped flat leave parsley
2-3 cloves of finely chopped garlic

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

Lemon juice

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 420 F degrees.
2. Remove guts, gills, scales and backbones of the sardines. Wash the sardines well.

3. Season the sardines with salt and pepper both side.
4. Put the panko, parsley, garlic, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix well.
5. Coat the sardines with the panko mixture and place on a casserole pan.
6. Put the rest of the panko mixture over the sardines. Sprinkle the olive oil.
7. Bake in the preheat oven for about 20 minutes.

8. Transfer to serving plates and sprinkle olive oil and lemon juice. Enjoy it!