Sardine Rillettes

French Friday with Dorie

When I see a can of sardines or anchovies it reminds me of my dad because he loved eating those little fish. I remember small stacks of those tins in our pantry when I was growing up, but you won't find them in my pantry - only when there is a FFwD recipe on the schedule will they make a very brief appearance. So, for this week's recipe I decided to buy just one can of sardines because I knew that I wouldn't be eating more than a nibble and wasn't sure if anyone else would like this recipe.

Of course not realizing it, I bought a can that needed to be deboned. It wasn't that difficult to do, but it was more handling of the sardines than I really would have preferred. The rillettes consist of cream cheese, a little chopped onion, minced white and light green parts of a scallion, lemon juice from half a lemon, and salt and pepper. I snipped some parsley and chives from my herb garden and minced those before adding to the mixture. When I took a little taste before putting the rillettes in the fridge to chill, I didn't think it tasted that bad.

I toasted some thin slices of wheat bread and cut the crusts off to serve the sardine rillettes. I also chopped some green onion and finely minced serrano pepper to add a little heat and give it some visual appeal. I ate one and that was enough for me. All I could taste was sardine with a little hint of onion. John ate the rest and said he thought it tasted like tuna fish and really liked it with the serrano pepper. He said that he would prefer to eat it as a regular-size sandwich with his pepper on the side (this is how he always eats tuna fish). He really liked the cream cheese instead of the mayonnaise in tuna fish. The jury is still out where my daughter is concerned because she won't be able to give this a try until Friday afternoon. Even though she looked at me like I was crazy when I told her what was on the schedule this week, she doesn't mind eating sardines at all, so I have a feeling I will be in the minority opinion on this dish.

See what the rest of the group thought about sardine rillettes over at French Fridays with Dorie.