Sardine Salad

A plain composed salad from the era when canned sardines were a pantry staple rather than a specialty item. Almost nothing needs translating; the few things that do are about the fish itself.

• How many tinsThree-quarters of a cup of drained sardines is roughly two standard 3.75-oz tins. Buy them packed in olive oil rather than water or tomato sauce, since the oil carries flavour into the egg mixture.
• Skin and bonesSome sardines are sold already skinless and boneless, in which case skip that step. If yours are whole, the backbone lifts out in one piece with the tip of a knife and the tiny rib bones are soft enough to leave in.
• EggsThree-quarters of a cup of chopped hard-cooked egg is about three large eggs. Chop them fairly coarse so the salad does not turn into paste when the fish is folded in.
• CucumberField cucumbers of the period were thicker-skinned than today's, and cooks often peeled them and sometimes salted the slices to draw out water. An English or Persian cucumber needs neither; slice it thin on a mandoline or with a sharp knife.
• DressingFrench dressing in American books of this period means a simple oil-and-vinegar vinaigrette, not the sweetened orange-coloured bottled product. Roughly three parts oil to one part vinegar with salt and pepper.
• SeasoningThe original leaves the mixture unseasoned, relying on the salt in the fish. A squeeze of lemon and a grind of pepper in the sardine and egg lifts it considerably.
• Yield and timingThe quantities suggest something like four small first-course servings or two light lunches, though the original gives no yield. Assemble shortly before serving, since cucumber slices weep and lettuce wilts once dressed.