Skip to main content
Main

Sardines with Capers

Sardines with capers served on buttered toast or croutons, topped with Parmesan and cayenne, finished with a glaze.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓

Why it works: Capers and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,088 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓

Sardines with Capers

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Prepare

  1. Remove the skin and bones from the sardines and cut them in half.

  2. Prepare the croutons or cut the toast into finger-shaped pieces.

Assemble

  1. Place 4 sardine halves on each piece of toast.

  2. Add a few grains of cayenne pepper.

  3. Sprinkle liberally with grated Parmesan cheese.

Bake and serve

  1. Cover with buttered paper and heat in a 400°F (200°C) oven until hot.

  2. Heat the liquid meat glaze, stir in the capers, pour it over the sardines, and serve hot.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Capers + peppertop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,088 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  2. Parmesan cheese + peppertop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,322 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  3. Meat + parmesan cheesetop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together269 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (cocoa, roasted).

  4. Capers + parmesan cheesetop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together125 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyraldehyde (malty, chocolate).

  5. Meat + peppertop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together8,777 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Sardines
Provide the main protein and rich, oily flavour at the centre of the dish.
Grated parmesan cheese
Melts and browns under heat, adding savoury flavour and a golden crust.
Liquid meat glaze
Adds concentrated savoury depth and moisture to the sardines.
Capers
Add a sharp, acidic brightness that cuts through the richness of the fish.

The step that matters

Heating the Parmesan and sardines until hot. Covering with buttered paper traps steam so the fish heats through gently while the cheese melts. Overheating can dry the sardines and scorch the cheese, so check that the fish is hot without browning too far.

Swap the capers

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (meat, parmesan cheese, pepper):

  1. Basilfits better
  2. Celeryfits better
  3. Thymefits better
  4. Capersthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against meat, parmesan cheese, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

You might also like

Macaroni and CheeseMacaroni and Cheese102 recipesMeat CroquettesMeat Croquettes52 recipesCheese MakingCheese Making50 recipesMeatballsMeatballs37 recipes