Bring a pot of boiling salted water to a boil and blanch the swiss chard leaves for 2 minutes. Drain and refresh with cold water. Heat the milk in a small saucepan. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the fresh breadcrumbs. Leave to stand. Bring another small saucepan of water to a boil and cook the smoked bacon for 2 minutes. Drain. Chop the swiss chard leaves finely and transfer to a mixing bowl. Squeeze the breadcrumbs to remove the milk and add them to the swiss chard with the ham, bacon, egg yolks, anchovy cream sauce and cheese, mixing well to combine. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and sautÄ the stuffing for 5-8 minutes, stirring frequently. Cool. Preheat the oven to 425F and grease a large shallow gratin dish. Place half the sardine fillets in the dish, skin-side down. Place a spoonful of stuffing on each sardine fillet. Top with the remaining sardine fillets, skin-side up. Brush the sardines lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with the breadcrumbs. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
@
36 fresh sardine fillets
2 bunches swiss chard leaves
1/2 lb ham steak, diced
3/4 lb smoked slab bacon, diced
1/2 cup milk
2 cups fresh breadcrumbs
2 egg yolks
1 tsp anchovy cream sauce
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup grated Emmenthal or Swiss cheese
2 tbsp olive oil
salt
@
25
mn
@
40
mn
@
This dish, although a little lengthy to prepare, is very inexpensive to make. Serve with boiled new potatoes.
