Sardine cutlets

Dear friends, today let's see together how to prepare a delicious recipe of the Sicilian tradition: sardine cutlets! For me, sardine cutlets are a childhood memory, because my grandmother always prepared them and I loved to rub them still hot on absorbent paper and eat them in bites secretly! Sardines are part of oily fish and are light, nutritious and rich in Omega-3. Cheap and tasty, they are the protagonists of various traditional Sicilian dishes such as pasta with sardines or sardines a beccafico. They differ from anchovies because sardines are larger, tastier and with more tender meat. They are an excellent second course of fish but they are also perfect for an appetizer: this "poor" but very rich in taste preparation conquers everyone at the first taste! So let's see together how to prepare Sicilian sardine cutlets in a few simple steps. Ingredients 500 g sardines 80 g re-milled durum wheat semolina 2 eggs 150 g breadcrumbs extra virgin olive oil salt A few sprigs of parsley 1 lemon Preparation First, take care of cleaning the sardines: remove the head, which will take part of the entrails with it. Insert a finger and push it along the entire length to open the fish and then, with the help of a small knife or finger, detach the central bone. Place the fish in a colander and rinse them well to remove any impurities. Prepare three bowls: one with flour, another with beaten eggs and the last with breadcrumbs. Put the sardines first from the flour, then from the eggs and finally from the breadcrumbs. If you have time, place them in the refrigerator for a quarter of an hour so that the breading compacts even better. You choose the frying method to use: I prefer the one by immersion in peanut oil in a saucepan, while grandma heated a finger of extra virgin olive oil in a pan and was careful to turn the sardines so as not to burn them and ensure uniform cooking. Dip the sardines (a few at a time) in the boiling oil and cook them until golden brown: it will take a few minutes. Place them gradually on paper towels and serve your sardine cutlets with a sprinkling of salt and a few drops of lemon juice and/or a handful of chopped parsley to taste. Enjoy your meal!