Sarde a Beccafico — Sicilian Sardine Rolls with Raisins and Pine Nuts

Use sardines that are already cleaned and butterflied: each fish should have a pair of fillets joined along the back, with the skin intact. Inspect them, remove any remaining visible bones and check that no tails or hard fins remain. Gently pat dry with paper towels, cover and refrigerate while you prepare the filling.

Pour the measured warm water over the raisins and leave for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, finely chop the parsley and coarsely chop the pine nuts. Wash and dry the orange, finely grate the stated amount of orange zest without the pith and squeeze 60 ml juice. The raisins continue soaking while you toast the breadcrumbs in the next step.

Heat half the olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add all the breadcrumbs and toast for about 3–4 minutes, stirring often, until light golden. Set aside one quarter of the breadcrumbs in a small bowl for topping the rolls. Add the pine nuts to the breadcrumbs remaining in the skillet and cook for about 1 more minute, stirring so they do not burn. Transfer to a bowl away from the heat and let the mixture cool until no longer hot.

Drain the raisins in a sieve, squeeze gently and chop; discard the soaking water. Add them to the cooled breadcrumbs and nuts with the parsley, orange zest, sugar, salt and pepper. Pour in 20 ml orange juice and mix thoroughly. The filling should be moist and slightly crumbly, but briefly keep its shape when pressed together with a teaspoon.

Preheat a conventional oven (no fan) to 200°C. Brush the bottom of an approximately 25 × 20 cm baking dish with a little of the remaining olive oil. Lay the sardines skin-side down and divide the filling among them, placing about two teaspoons at the wider end of each fish. Roll from the wider end toward the narrower end, enclosing the filling without squeezing tightly, and place seam-side down. Arrange twenty rolls close together in a single layer so they support one another, and tuck four whole bay leaves between the rows.

Mix the remaining 40 ml orange juice with all the olive oil left after brushing the dish. Drizzle evenly over the rolls and sprinkle with the reserved breadcrumbs. Keep the filling inside the rolls and the breadcrumb topping in a thin, loose layer.

Place the dish on the middle rack of the preheated oven and bake without a cover for about 20–25 minutes. The top should turn lightly golden and the sardine flesh should lose its translucent appearance and flake easily with a fork. The fish must be fully cooked and the filling hot in the center; the thin fillets do not need prolonged baking, which can dry them out.

Remove the dish from the oven and let stand for about 5 minutes so the filling firms up slightly. Remove all the bay leaves, then place five rolls on each of four plates. Divide the flavorful juices from the dish among the servings and serve warm.