Hot, Sweaty, and Packed Like Sardines

Since Cousin Matt is on hiatus, I’m jumping in to talk sardines.

In Chicago there used to be a famous venue called “The Gold Star Sardine Bar.” The name had nothing to do with the menu. Instead, the capacity was only 50 or so people, so they were packed in like sardines. But the lineups! Oh the lineups!

This is only a partial list of the people who played there: Tony Bennet, Liza Minelli, Frank Sinatra, Woody Herman, Lionel Hampton, Count Basie, Buddy Rich…. Can you imagine being crammed in there with 50 other people so close to the musicians? Unbelievable. There was no cover charge, no minimum, no reservations, and the tables had glasses filled with free cigarettes.

They seem to have closed in 1997, with only occasional private functions since then.

At any rate, here’s a FYCE on sardines.

Too Hot to Cook

When the world is like The Gold Star Sardine Bar — hot, sweaty, and filled with smoke — it’s time to take a break from cooking. And what follows isn’t really a recipe, more of a theme you can follow. And here we’re talking beans, greens, and sardines.

Here I used drained canned cannellini, but there are plenty of other good options. Chickpeas, black beans, navy beans, whatever you like and have on hand.

Next I washed a bunch of baby spinach, but again, whatever you have on hand and like is great. Arugula, mixed greens, leaf lettuce, it’s up to you.

Then I opened a can of sardines and drained the oil into a bowl to use as a base for a dressing. Other canned seafood works great too — tuna, salmon, mackerel, whatever you like.

This is a four ounce can, but you can certainly use more or less as you like.

If you use water-packed seafood then you should dump the liquid and substitute some olive oil or other good quality oil for your dressing. About half a can full?

Then I whisked up the oil with about half as much lemon juice, a minced garlic clove, salt and pepper.

Finally, the other ingredients went in the bowl. I topped it with some leftover roasted peppers and then gently tossed it so the sardines wouldn’t get broken up too much.

The extra veg is nice but certainly not required. Other good options are sliced carrots or radishes. Now that tomato season is kicking off, they’re a great option. But again, if you have something you like, feel free to use it. Maybe add roasted nuts. Toasted bread crumbs. Sliced hot peppers. Pickled artichoke hearts. It’s up to you.

Serve this with bread or potato salad from the deli if you feel like you need more carbs, although the beans should be plenty filling. Treat this as a main dish, or maybe as a side dish to a main course of ice cream. The point is that this is quick, nutritious, filling and takes no heating. Sardines, salmon, and some canned tuna can be high on the list of sustainable seafood, and of course beans are an earth-friendly source of protein and carbs. It’s great summer food.