About
Whole sardines packed skin on and bones in, with lemon that flavours the olive oil as much as the fish. The flesh stays tender because the fish is cooked once, before the tin is sealed. Good straight out of the tin onto grilled bread.
These are pilchard sardines out of the Northeast Atlantic, off the Iberian coast, kept cold from the moment they are landed. A slice of lemon goes in with the extra virgin olive oil. By the time the tin is opened the oil carries citrus as well. The fish is pre-cooked by the traditional Portuguese method and left whole.
José Gourmet works the coasts of Portugal and Spain and pays its suppliers in advance rather than bargaining the price down. Inês Oliveira illustrated this tin. Eugénio Roda wrote the short piece that travels with it and Luís Baena supplied the recipes.
The producer's own suggestion is the plainest and the best. Rustic bread or toast, the fish as it comes, a glass of white or red beside it. Baena folds the same tin through a risotto with lemon zest and cheese from the Azores.
Producer note
A small Lisbon house devoted to Iberian conservas, which buys along the Portuguese and Spanish coasts and pays up front. Every tin carries a different Portuguese illustrator, a chef's recipe and a piece of writing.