Recipe: Sardines and feta pizza
News of Norway, issue 5/03
Norwegians have a long history of preserving their food. Refrigerators weren’t common until the 1950s, and it was necessary to find other ways of making the food last through the long and harsh winters.
By the late 19th century, canning grew as an industry on the west coast of Norway, particularly in the town of Stavanger. In 1902, King Oscar, who would remain king of Sweden and Norway for another three years before Norway released itself from the union with its neighbor, gave his permission to one Stavanger-based company to use his image and name on its canned sardines.
Today, King Oscar is the world’s best-selling brand of canned sardines.
Not that the Norwegian company only focus on the Sardina pilchardus. No, these days, the brand can be found on all sorts of preserved fish – from kipper snacks to cod roe. But the main product has always been the sardines.
In order to move with the times, the bosses at King Oscar have in recent years chosen to experiment a great deal with the products on sale in the United States. Gone are the days when sardines only came in water or in oil – nowadays you can find King Oscar sardines swimming in salsa, pesto or a number of other sauces.
The new tastes are part of the strategy of American CEO Bob Montano. He has also placed great focus on the health benefits of eating brisling sardines.
“The best dietary sources of Omega-3's are cold-water fish. King Oscar brisling sardines from Norway are especially rich in these 'good' fats,” Montano says.
The San Francisco-based executive started something of a renaissance for canned sardines when he started showing up at sports tournaments such as marathons in the mid-1990s armed with cans of sardines. This “guerrilla marketing” proved very successful – the company now sells more than 30 million cans of sardines every year in the United States.
Serves 4
One Turkish Bread or Middle Eastern flat bread
1/3 cup sundried tomato pesto
1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
106 g can King Oscar Sardines in Oil, drained
1/2 cup (2 oz.) pitted olives
1 Tbs dried oregano
200 g feta cheese
4 ripe tomatoes, sliced
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400º.
Lightly grease a baking tray with olive oil.
Cut the Turkish bread in half widthwise and cut each piece in half lengthwise so that you have four pieces. If you are using the flat bread (as pictured), simply cut it into four pieces.
Spread each piece evenly with tomato pesto. Top with the tomato slices, King Oscar sardines, olives, feta and dried oregano.
Drizzle with a little olive oil.
Place in the preheated oven until crisp (around 10-12 minutes).
Serve immediately and enjoy!