Pappa al Pomodoro With Sardines

Clean the sardines. To detach the head, start at the point where the tail meets the body, cut the belly open with a paring knife or with your thumb. Hold the head between your thumb and forefinger and starting from belly to the tail and pull backward toward the spine, removing the head from the body without separating the fillets; discard the head. Rinse under cold water and pat dry. 

To remove the spine, start at the head end. Hold the backbone between thumb and forefinger; carefully lift it away from the fillet and discard. Remove any remaining bones with fish bone tweezers Gently flatten the sardine skin side down. Starting at the head end, grasp the backbone between thumb and forefinger and carefully lift it up and away from the fillet; discard the backbone.

Mix the sugar and coarse salt together; pour half of it into a baking dish; place the sardines on top, cover with the other half of the mixture and marinate for 20 minutes at room temperature or for 1 hour in the refrigerator. Rinse the sardines, pat dry with paper towels and drizzle with a little oil.

Blanch the tomatoes. To blanch the tomatoes, bring water to a boil. Add salt. Add the tomatoes to boiling water for 3 minutes. Remove and rinse with cold water. Peel them, divide them in half, remove the seeds and cut them into 1/4" cubes.

Chop the onion and sauté with a little oil and the garlic. Add the tomatoes, basil and a pinch of chilli pepper and cook for 5 minutes. 

In the meantime, cut the bread into thick slices and toast if you like. Soak in the tomato and let simmer for 1 minute at most, seasoning with salt and pepper. 

Remove the garlic and transfer to a stand mixer; mix for around 15 minutes, then add 3/4 cup oil and whisk until incorporated, around 3 minutes. Serve the pappa al pomodoro warm with the marinated sardines, garnishing with a few basil leaves.