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Cicchetti Bar · Sweet-Sour Marinated Sardines

Sarde in Saor

Sarde in Saor — street food from Veneto, Italy
Photo: KRISTA [1] / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0

It was originally designed to preserve fish for weeks without refrigeration, which is why it still tastes better a day or two after it's made, not fresh.

Sarde in saor are fried sardines layered with softened onions, vinegar, pine nuts, and raisins, left to marinate so the sweet-sour flavors soak in. Venetian bacari serve small plates of it as a classic cicchetto with wine.

Why it's made this way: Venetian sailors needed fish that would keep during long voyages, and the vinegar-onion marinade was a practical preservation method that became a beloved dish in its own right.
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Part of World of Street Food — 690 dishes from 118 countries. Something wrong here? Tell us in the comments below. Photo credits.