 Valley Table staff Issue 46 (June-August 09) [Copyright © 2009, The Valley Table] At the tony restaurant, 42, atop the Ritz Carlton Westchester, chef-owner Anthony Goncalves celebrates his Portuguese heritage with one of the most uncelebrated of all culinary delights: sardines. The menu at 42 is New American, but Goncalves's Mediterranean roots run deep. Take, for instance, his devotion to the maligned, underappreciated, shiny sardine: "I have three renditions of sardines: One is very Portuguese, one southern Italian and one French." All showcase the virtues of the fresh fish. Goncalves receives a delivery of fresh sardines from Portugal weekly. They're delicious, and they're good for you--loaded with Omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins D and B12. Even those who snub their noses (or worse) at canned sardines are bound to like these preparations. One dish offered on a recent Portuguese tasting menu (recipe at right) plays on the traditional Sicilian pasta con sarde: fillets of fresh sardines are seared to perfect crispness and served atop raisins, currants, fennel and pine nuts. A sprinkling of bread crumb (no pasta), a garnish of baby greens and a spritz of aged balsamic. The dish plays sweet against sour, crisp against soft; each of the ingredients adds a unique flavor and texture. Goncalves finishes the dish with a whisper of fennel pollen and Maldon sea salt. (Fresh sardines, of course, are not salty and benefit from the addition.) It's one of his favorite preparations. Another dish reflects his roots in Portugal, where sardines fresh off the boat make for popular street fare. Charcoal-grilled and sandwiched in a Portuguese roll with olive oil, lemon and parsley, they are a Portuguese fast-food pleasure. At 42, Goncalves's rendition is a bit more elegant: puff pastry layered with tomato jam, roasted tomatoes and grilled sardines topped with parsley foam. He insists, "It's still okay to eat it with your hands." Dish three is inspired by a taste encounter in France matching lavender and sardines. Goncalves recreates the memory in a beautiful herb salad with seared sardines. That makes three good reasons to eat sardines. Here's another: While many seafood items are on one watch list or another because of health concerns or depleted population levels, sardines are a "best choice" for eating, according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Environmental Defense Fund. So, sardines are sustainable and good for you, plentiful, inexpensive--and in the hands of Chef Anthony Goncalves, absolutely delicious. | 
