Millefeuille of sardines

The orange season begins, which in Sicily are particularly beautiful and fragrant. The combination with wild fennel, which grows spontaneously in my area and is always very pleasant on my palate, inspired my creativity for this second course with intense Sicilian flavours: sardine millefeuille with orange bechamel and wild fennel. And here is the recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 kg of sardines
• 3 oranges
• Wild fennel
• 400 ml of milk
• White flour to taste
• Salt to taste
• Extra virgin olive oil to taste
• Pepper as needed

Method

1. Fillet the sardines (or if you prefer, let the fishmonger do it) and flour them. Salt them lightly, fry them in extra virgin olive oil and place them on absorbent paper.
2. Prepare the béchamel by making the classic roux, with extra virgin olive oil instead of butter. Therefore, heat some oil in a pan, add 30 g of flour and mix them together.
3. As soon as the roux is ready, add the milk and the filtered orange juice. Bring to the boil, stirring constantly, to avoid lumps forming.
4. Blanch the fennel separately and add a little of its water to the béchamel, together with a few sprigs of fennel.

Assemble the dish using a precise technique. Put a little béchamel on the bottom, then a sardine fillet and more béchamel. Continue in this way, creating three or four layers and your sardine millefeuille will be ready to be served.