NURI Sardines in spicy olive oil. Whole sardines with piri-piri, gherkin, and bay leaf – the variety with the vegetables in the tin.
NURI Sardines in spicy olive oil are whole Portuguese sardines, steamed and hand-packed in olive oil, accompanied by a piri-piri chili, a piece of gherkin, carrot, clove, pepper, and bay leaf – 125 g tin with 90 g of fish. No chili oil from a bottle, no extracts: the heat comes from the chili that is inside the tin.
NURI Sardines in spicy olive oil differ from the mild variety through their heat – and through what you see when you open the tin: a small red chili, a slice of gherkin, a piece of carrot, a bay leaf, and a clove. This is the Portuguese way of seasoning sardines – the spices infuse the oil for weeks until they have permeated the fish. For us, this spicy tin is the second most popular NURI variety and, for many customers, their actual favorite.
Warm rather than burning – and with bay leaf in the background
The heat is distinct, but far from the kind that numbs your mouth. Piri-piri is a small, fruity chili, and it is dosed at two percent in the tin: it provides a warmth in the back of the throat while letting the sardine remain the focus. Added to this are the aromas from the pickled vegetables – the clove and bay leaf give the oil a slightly sweet, spicy note, while the gherkin and carrot taste like pickled vegetables.
The fish itself is the same as in the mild tin: whole sardines, headless, with skin and soft bones, firm in texture, juicy, and bold in flavor. The oil is a bit redder than in the mild variety and tastes of chili – those who drizzle it on bread will already be enjoying half the treat before even tasting the first fish.
For those who want their sardines truly spicy, this tin is not the right choice – for that, there are the sardines in extra spicy olive oil with three percent chili. And those who only want to see fish and oil when they open the tin should opt for the pure sardines in olive oil.
On bread with lemon, in the pan with potatoes, in a salad
The spicy tin needs the least amount of extra work. Bread, butter, sardine, a splash of lemon to balance the heat – done. The gherkin and carrot from the tin go right on the bread; they are seasoned vegetables and taste accordingly.
In a pan, it becomes a dinner: fry home fries in the chili oil from the tin, place the sardines on top at the end, and just let them warm through. Or a tomato salad with red onion, parsley, and flaked spicy sardines, using the oil from the tin as a dressing. On toast with avocado and egg, it is a breakfast that wakes you up. And in spaghetti with garlic and breadcrumbs, the spicy sardine replaces both the fish and the chili.
What doesn't work: cooking the sardines for a long time. They fall apart, and the heat becomes bitter. Just warm them, do not cook them – that way the fish stays whole and the oil tastes exactly as it should.
Our tip: Finely chop the chili from the tin and sprinkle it over the bread – those who like it spicier can achieve the heat level of the extra-spicy variety using a standard tin.
Seasoned in Matosinhos, by hand since 1920
NURI is produced at Pinhais & C.ª in Matosinhos, the fishing port of Porto, 500 meters from the Atlantic. The factory has been operating with the same process since its founding in 1920: only fresh fish, placed in brine, hand-arranged on racks, and steamed before going into the tin. The sardines are then hand-packed individually – and for this variety, the chili, gherkin, carrot, bay leaf, and clove are added by hand before the olive oil is poured in.
This is why every tin tastes a little different from the next: one chili is a bit larger, the other bay leaf a bit more intense. Those expecting an industrially standardized product will see this as an inconsistency. To us, it is a sign that people, not machines, are filling the tins. Finally, every tin is wrapped by hand in paper, the design of which dates back to the 1930s.
The tins reach Germany via the importer Maritime Zeitkapseln from Hanau. For us, this spicy variety has been on the shelf from day one – and it is the tin that customers reorder most frequently after the mild version.
The variety for sardine connoisseurs and the pantry
This spicy tin is for everyone who already knows the mild version and knows they like sardines. It is the tin for an evening with wine and bread, for a picnic, for a holiday apartment – a dinner from the cupboard that still tastes like something. And like all sardines in oil, it keeps well in the cupboard and becomes more rounded over time as the spices continue to infuse into the oil.
As a gift, it is the perfect tin for people who like spicy food and keep canned goods as emergency rations. Together with the mild version and the two tomato tins, it is included in the sardine gift set – 4-box, the gift box with all four classic varieties.
It is not suitable for children or for anyone who generally avoids chili – even the mild heat of the piri-piri is too much for sensitive tongues. If you prefer tomato over oil, you can find the same heat in the sardines in spicy tomato sauce.
Sardines with chili, gherkin, and bay leaf in a tin – the Portuguese way of eating spicy, where the fish remains at the forefront.
