There is one very tasty fish in the herring family, which, despite its small size, has won the hearts of many lovers of river and sea delicacies. It's about sprat. This fish is very tasty and fatty, it contains dozens of useful components. One of the most important advantages, after the vitamin composition, is the low cost of the product.
Since Soviet times, people have considered sprat in tomato sauce as one of the delicacies. To this day, this fish remains a favorite and traditional dish on many tables.
How to use sprat
Huge demand in the Russian market is for sprat in spicy salting, cold and hot smoking, as well as sprats. Gourmets have learned how to prepare hot and cold snacks, first and second courses from this product, as well as preservation for the winter. Fish and vegetables have a special combination.
Step-by-step recipe for canapes with sprat and vegetables
This recipe is easy and simple to prepare, with step-by-step descriptions and photos.
Ingredients for 10 servings:
Baltic sprat - 10 pieces;
tomatoes (preferably cherry) - 5 pieces;
fresh cucumber - 1 piece;
dill;
lemon;
soy sauce.
Preparation:
Cut the sprat into fillets, removing the head, take out the ridge, leaving the tail. Pour the soy sauce over the fish and leave to soak for 30 minutes
Cut the cherry tomatoes and cucumbers into round slices 1-2 cm thick, and the lemon into thin slices of the floor
Assemble the canapes at random. Chop a slice of lemon between the fish with a skewer or toothpick, giving the canapes the shape of a sailboat. Decorate the dish with a sprig of dill
Spicy salted sprat with vegetables - cold appetizer
At home, we will salt the sprat, for this we will prepare a mixture of spices, most importantly, observe the proportions.
Ingredients:
Sprat (fresh frozen) - 1 kg;
salt - 3 tablespoons with a slide;
allspice (peas) - 5 pieces;
black pepper (peas) - 15 pieces;
coriander (grain) - 1/4 tsp;
cloves - 5 pieces;
ginger (ground) - one pinch;
bay leaf - 3 pcs.
Preparation:
Rinse the sprat well. Cut it up by removing the entrails and head. Rinse the abdomen by letting the water drain
Pound all the spices in a mortar (not very finely) and mix them with salt
Sprinkle the sprat with the pickling mixture and mix gently. Transfer the fish to a glass jar or enamel bowl and cover with a lid or plate. Place everything in the refrigerator for 12 hours
Serve the spicy salted fish, garnish with any vegetables. If the dish is served in summer, then it is appropriate to decorate it with young boiled potatoes, lightly salted cucumbers. The fish is also combined with green peas, pickled onions, olives and herbs
Salads with sprat and vegetables for the winter
All recipes are easy to prepare, and understandable to any housewife. The financial costs are minimal.
Option one
Ingredients:
Sprat (peeled) - 3 kg;
tomatoes - 3 kg;
carrots - 1 kg;
onions - 1 kg;
sugar - 1 glass;
salt - 3 tablespoons;
sunflower oil - 200 gr.;
bay leaf, peppercorns - to taste;
table vinegar 9% - 6 tablespoons
Preparation:
- Butcher the fish, remove the head and entrails. Rinse the sprat thoroughly under a gentle stream of cold water. Pour some water, vegetable oil into a deep saucepan, and place the fish in it. Simmer the dish over low heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spatula, for 20 minutes.
- Wash the tomatoes, dry them and mince them. Peel the carrots and grate on a coarse grater. Peel the onions and cut them into half rings. Place all vegetables in a separate bowl, put on fire and cook for 40 minutes. Before the end of cooking, add salt, sugar and vinegar to the mixture. Combine the prepared composition of vegetables with fish and roll up hermetically in jars.
Option two
Ingredients:
Fresh frozen sprat - 600 grams;
onions - 200 grams;
tomato juice - 500 milliliters;
carrots - 150 grams;
flour - 2 tablespoons;
vegetable oil - to taste;
sugar - 1 tablespoon;
salt to taste;
allspice - 5 peas;
bay leaf - 5 pieces;
coriander - 10 peas;
table vinegar 9% - 40 grams.
Preparation:
- Defrost and clean the sprat by removing the head and entrails. Rinse the cut product well with cold water. Place the fish in a colander and drain off excess liquid.
- Peel the onion, rinse and cut into half rings. Pour some vegetable oil into a preheated pan and fry the onions.
- Rinse peeled carrots and chop in a blender. Put the prepared vegetable into the pan with the fried onions and continue cooking.
- Transfer the prepared vegetables to a thick-bottomed saucepan or cauldron. Place fish over stews. Add bay leaves, sugar, salt and allspice.
- Pour the tomato juice sauce into the salad bowl and stir gently. Simmer the dish over low heat for 40 minutes. At the end of cooking, add the desired amount of vinegar and roll the salad tightly into jars.
Sauce preparation:
Add sifted wheat flour to the tomato juice. The flour thickens the sauce as it cooks.
Option three
Ingredients:
Sprat - 3 kg;
onions - 1 kg;
beets - 3 kg;
tomatoes - 1 kg;
salt, sugar;
vegetable oil;
table vinegar 9%
Preparation:
- Clean the sprat from the entrails and head, then rinse the fish and discard it in a colander.
- Prepare other ingredients: grate the beets, chop the tomatoes in a meat grinder, cut the onion into half rings. Place vegetables in a deep saucepan and stir. Pour 1/2 cup vegetable oil into the mixture and simmer until tender.
- Lightly blanch the sprat and add to the vegetable mixture. Simmer the dish until cooked for 30 minutes and add pepper, salt, sugar, vinegar (1/2 liter of salad - 1/2 tsp vinegar) to the salad to taste.
- Put the salad in jars and sterilize for 20 minutes in a water bath. Roll up the cans tightly.
