Ingredients:
4.2 oz canned sardines* in extra virgin olive oil
4.2 oz canned sardines in water, drained
1 tablespoon Dijon
1 tablespoon nonpareil capers
1 large shallot, chopped
1/2 teaspoon hot peri-peri sauce
1 stalk celery, finely diced
freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Place the sardines, Dijon, capers, pepper, peri-peri and shallot in a food processor or better yet, a mini chopper and pulse until a fairly smooth spread forms. Remove to bowl and stir in celery. Refrigerate 1 hour prior to serving.

*I used canned wild sardines by Wild Pacific, they are really tasty!

My thoughts:

My mind has been on sardines lately. I ate them a bit as a kid on crackers but it wasn’t until recently I gave them much thought. Why am I thinking of them now? We are in Portugal, the home of the sardine-crazed. We’ve been planning the trip for months, Matt’s even taught himself Portuguese and made a spreadsheet. To get myself in a Portuguese frame of mind, I made this spread right before we left. I don’t know if I will have anything like it in Lisbon, Cascais or Porto but I did throw in some peri-peri sauce for a Portuguese flare. It isn’t the prettiest spread but it is delicious, I’m sad sardines are so unpopular in the US, they are sustainable, meaty and tasty. And good for you!