Les Sardines Farcies aux Blettes et aux Moules (Sardines Stuffed with Chard and Mussels)
Les Sardines Farcies aux Blettes et aux Moules (Sardines Stuffed with Chard and Mussels) is a traditional Monegasque (from Monaco) recipe for a classic dish of sardines stuffed with a blend of mussels and chard bound with egg that's baked on a bed of cooked Swiss chard. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Monegasque version of: Sardines Stuffed with Chard and Mussels (Les Sardines Farcies aux Blettes et aux Moules).
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The use of chard in cookery is a feature of Monegasque cuisine. Here, fresh sardines are stuffed with a blend of mussels and chard before being baked on a bed of chard. This dish can be served as a starter. Or, if you start with more chard it can make a fish course in a main meal.
Ingredients:
4 sardines
400g Swiss chard
500g fresh mussels
2 celery sticks, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 eggs
4 tbsp fresh breadcrumbs
olive oil, for frying
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
Method:
Cut the heads off the sardines then gut, scale and clean them before snipping off the fins. Wash well, pat dry with kitchen paper and set aside.
Remove the midribs from the chard then chop the leaves finely. Place in a pan with 2 tbsp olive oil, half the garlic and a little salt and black pepper. Sauté gently until the chard has wilted and all the excess moisture from the leaves has evaporated away. Take off the heat and set aside.
Scrub, clean and de-beard the mussels. Discard any that are open (or which do not close when rapped agains your worktop). Place the remainder in a large pan with 100ml water, the celery and a little seasoning. Bring to a boil, cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook, shaking the pan occasionally, for about 5 minutes or until the mussels are open.
Take the pan off the heat and drain the mussels (keep the cooking liquor). When the mussels are cool enough to be handled remove the flesh from the shells.
Place the mussel flesh in a bowl and mix with the beaten eggs and enough of the chard to bring the mixture together. Season with salt and black pepper and moisten with a little of the mussel liquor.
Arrange the remaining chard in the base of a baking dish. Sit the fish on top and stuff as best as you can with the mussel mixture (it does not matter if most of it is outside the fish, just arrange it attractively). Drizzle over a little olive oil and some more of the mussel cooking liquor.
Scatter the breadcrumbs over the top then transfer to an oven pre-heated to 200°C and bake for about 8 minutes, or until the stuffing is set and the sardines are cooked through.
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