Sarde a Beccafico (Stuffed Sardines)

Method

1. Heat a pan with a little olive oil and toast the breadcrumbs until golden.
2. Finely chop the parsley. Grate the zest of one untreated orange. Crush a small garlic clove.
3. Take raisins that have been soaked in white wine and squeezed dry. Add them to the breadcrumbs along with pine nuts.
4. Mix everything together, adding olive oil little by little until the mixture becomes compact like a stuffing.
5. Butterfly each sardine, removing the central bone, and lay them open.
6. Place a small amount of stuffing on each sardine, then roll them up from the head end to the tail.
7. Arrange the rolled sardines close together in a baking dish lightly oiled at the bottom.
8. Sprinkle the remaining stuffing over the sardines. Add a few more pine nuts on top, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle coarse salt.
9. Place a couple of bay leaves on top for aroma.
10. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 6–7 minutes.