Heat 6 tablespoons of the oil in a large saucepan and cook the onion until softened, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Pour in the white wine and bring to a boil. Boil hard until reduced by two-thirds. Stir the tomatoes into the onion mixture and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 15-20 minutes over a moderate heat, uncovered, stirring occasionally. Preheat the oven to 475 F. Pour the tomato sauce into a large shallow non-reactive gratin dish. Arrange the sardines in the tomato sauce. Sprinkle the bread crumbs and fennel seed over the sardines. Pour the remaining olive oil over the sardines. Bake for 10-15 minutes.
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36 sardines, cleaned
3 1/2 lbs tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
3 onions, chopped
3/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
2 tbsp fennel seeds
1/2 cup olive oil
salt, pepper
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5
mn
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40
mn
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You can make fresh bread crumbs by grinding stale bread in a food processor or blender.
