Calabrian sardine: what it is and how to prepare the typical spicy sauce

Typical Calabrian product and in particular from the province of Crotone and the Upper and Lower Ionian Cosentino area: here’s how to prepare the Calabrian sardella.

The Calabrian sardella is a typical product of Calabria: a spicy fish-based sauce known as the caviar of the poor, rosamarine or Calabrian caviar. This spicy sauce can be considered as the sea variant of ‘nduja, another typical Calabrian product. The Calabrian spicy sauce prepared following this recipe can be consumed within a few days; for longer storage I recommend you boil the glass jar wrapped in a towel for ten minutes in a pot of water.

Preparation of the Calabrian sardella

1. To prepare the Calabrian sardella, start by washing the fish well under cold running water then drain it in a colander.
2. Separately, mix the two variants of chilli pepper with the chopped fennel then put some on the bottom of a bowl with a little salt.
3. Cover with a layer of fish, then make another layer of salt and chilli.
4. Continue in this way until you run out of ingredients at your disposal.
5. Cover with a weight and let it steep for two days.
6. After the resting time, mix all the ingredients well.
7. Transfer the mixture thus obtained into a clean glass jar and cover with olive oil.

Alternatively, I suggest you try the recipe for Calabrian lampascioni in oil .

storage

This spicy sauce, the fish sardella, can be kept for a few days in the refrigerator, inside a special container with a container with a lid. We do not recommend freezing in the freezer.