Cream Cheese Sardine Rillettes
Growing up in Brittany, on the Atlantic coast, sardines were a staple food – coming in fresh every morning from the harbor and sold at the local “poissonnier” (fish shop); in cans or in the form of the utterly popular sardine rillettes. This tasty spread is a delight for sharing during the French Apéro (pre-meal drinks & small bites) and makes the perfect nutritious snack too. So what are “Rillettes”, exactly ? If you’re unacquainted with it, a “rillette” (pronounced “ree-yet”) in French is similar to a pâté, often made…
- Prep time
- 10 min
- Cook time
- 31 min
- Yield
- 10 servings
- Difficulty
- EASY
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 2 cans (2x
- 160g) sardines in olive oil (8 filets), drained.½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp salt
- 6-7 sprigs flat leaf parsley, stemmed and chopped (about 1 tbsp)
- 1 tsp whole pink peppercorns (+extra for serving)¼ cup (62g) cream cheese (31%M.
- F.), at room temperature
- ¼ lemon, juiced
- For serving:
- toasted baguettes slices, cornichons, parsley leaves,
Instructions
- 1
Combine the sardines, black pepper, salt, parsley and pink peppercorns in a bowl, and mash with a fork until it turns into paste, fairly smooth, with small chunks still visible.
- 2
In a separate bowl, mash together the cream cheese and lemon juice until smooth. Combine with the sardine mixture until smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
- 3
Cover with plastic film, and chill for 2 hours minimum.
- 4
For serving, spread about 1 tablespoon of rillettes on each baguettes slice, top with a cornichon, 4-5 pink peppercorns and a leaf of parsley.