From ancient Greece sardine, like all small fish, was the fish of the poor. In classical Athens, faliraki sardines were the common fish of the people, eaten with barley bread, and any increase in its price caused social unrest.

Sardine is highly nutritious, rich in omega-3 fats, vitamins D and B12 and proteins. Equally important is the fact that the humble sardine, precisely because of its humility and the low position it holds in the food chain, lives a shorter period compared to most fish, making it nutritionally safer, as it does not catch up, in the short its life at sea, to collect large amounts of mercury.

Sardines, which due to their low cost were identified with poverty, have in recent years returned to gourmet versions.

In traditional cuisine, however, we can enjoy them cooked in various ways: in the oven (with tomato, onion, garlic, oil, parsley), fried (with batter in hot oil), grilled on the embers, plain or in vine leaves. A serving of grilled sardines gives us only 180 calories, and with a great salad and a slice of brown bread is a great lunch or dinner.

The ones drunk sardines I ate them at Roula tavern in Kontokali, yesterday at noon (5-9-2019). Although the popular fish tavern - a reference point in the area but also in the whole of Corfu - known for its fresh fish, at noon George (son of the forgiven Roula) is closed for the good and our company made a turn-off frying pans. The drunk as he says. I watched the process.

Cleaning the head and entrails and by hand a quick cleaning of the scales. Put in the pan with a little oil over low heat.

We add him parsley,

and onion cut into thin pieces,

then add the tomato, in thin slices (11 slices half a tomato according to George0).

Now is the time salt and pepper, of her throwing oregano and white wine and the dynamism of the fire with a covered lid.

After the sardines are soaked in the air (like pizzas or Sfakian pies), it's time to welcome the Ouzo and its anise.

The speed of cooking, the negligible cost of the ingredients, the enjoyment of the taste and of course the wonderful Ω3 fats that are so good for our hearts, make this delicacy, the lentil of poverty, cuzina povera, a majestic hymn to simplicity, to the great little ones of our lives.

Gerekou family Thank you very much… We will be back with your life very soon!