COMING OUT SMELLING LIKE SARDINES

Full disclosure: despite my taste for all things salty I'll admit to never having particularly craved sardines. On that note, part of my culinary education is refining my palate away from salt (not to abandon it but to better use it), to appreciate the subtleties of flavors. Though the concept of rolling small fish with stuffing is an appealing idea, and one you might be able to play with in both sweet and savory dishes, I've tasted the rolled sardines made by other groups and found them both too salty and stinky for my liking.

DISH: Baked Stuffed Sardines in the Style of Monaco (Cote D'Azur), Sardines Farcies Comme A Monaco.

RECIPE: Scale, eviscerate and remove the head and central bones of 1,200g of sardines, leaving two fillets connected then set aside.

Dice 400g of bread and soak in 500ml heavy cream for 30 minutes

Stem 200g of swiss chard and blanch leaves in lightly salted water for 2 to 3 minutes (or until tender). Drain, refresh and squeeze out excess moisture

Chop the chard coarsely and mix with two eggs, 140g grated parmesan, 8 petals of emondee tomato, 20ml olive oil, two minced garlic cloves, soaked bread, and two teaspoons each of chopped parsley, chervil, and basil. Season well.

Lay the sardines open on a work surface skin side down. Season lightly with salt and pepper and put stuffing down the center. Enclose stuffing with fillets keeping the original shape of the fish. Place the stuffed fillets in an oiled pan, side by side and bake at 400 F for 10 to 12 minutes, depending on size. Arrange the stuffed sardines on a plate, drizzle olive oil over them and serve with a lemon wedge and a sprig of parsley

BREAKDOWN: Wow, between the three quarts or so of brunoise I'd done at the Tribeca Grill and the standing up all evening in the kitchen at school I was exhausted at the end of the night but it was almost one of the most fun evenings in a while. Not because the dish was great (though it wasn't overly salted as before), but because everyone was playful. I know working in a restaurant is work but having worked the past two days at a place where I wasn't familiar with my co-workers made me realize how much more fun you can have when you're working with people you know, or have come to know. But we're here to cook, not to make friends, right?

While we doubled the number of fish in the recipe, we used the same amount of stuffing and still had some leftover. Also, we didn't use any eggs. Chef W., said it wasn't necessary to use eggs to make the stuffing hold together and she was right, the rolls stayed rolled. The Level Four group was doing scallops so customers were choosing between that and our sardines. Which dish do YOU think was selected more often? We had a lot of sardines leftover. The waitstaff likes them so we handed them off on a platter with lemon wedges and discussed the entremetier dishes (the vegetarian dishes) for next week.

NEW BOOK: We also received our new recipe books for the summer menu which begins next week. Some of the dishes we'll be making follow.

Monday:
Baked Snails with Garlic Parsley Butter
Sauteed Fillet of Flounder with Eggplant and Tomato Compote
Braised Sausage and Mushroom-Stuffed Beef Escalope with Carrots
Fig and orange gratin, Lemon-Thyme-Honey Ice Cream

Tuesday:
Chilled Cream of Avocado with Spiced Crabmeat
Fillet of Sea Bass in an Anchovy Sauce with Fennel and Sunchokes
Beef Tournedos with Eggplant Monaco-Style
Warm Pine Nut Tart with Plum Ice Cream

Wednesday:
Tartlet with Leeks, Roasted Peppers and Tomato Vinaigrette
Rare Pan-Seared Tuna with Gazpacho Vinaigrette and Black Olive Couscous
Sauteed Chicken Basque-Style
Poached Peach with Raspberries and Lemon-Verbena Ice-Cream

Thursday:
Steamed Mussels with White Wine, Shallots and Parsley
Salmon Fillet with Clams, Fennel and Mint
Veal Stew with Tomatoes, Mushroom and Pearl Onions
Summer Fruits with Grand Marnier Mousse

Friday:
Chilled Cream of Zucchini
Fillet of Hake with Manila Clams Riviera Style
Herb and mustard-glazed roasted leg of lamb
Sweet Cheese Mousse with Berries