Pollastrini Sardines Piccanti (Spicy in Olive Oil)
 
Anzio, Italy. Since 1889. Pollastrini is the only Italian cannery still built entirely around Mediterranean sardines — and they do it the old way. Boats go out at night, lights draped over the water to draw the shoal in gently, no trawling, no stress on the fish. The same method the village has used for over a century, and it's why the sardines arrive at the cannery whole, intact, and calm.
Inside the tin: firm, medium-large fillets in nothing but extra virgin olive oil, red pepper and a touch of salt. No tomato, no distractions — just the clean, savoury depth of the classic olive oil tin with a slow-building chilli heat running through it. Simpler than the tomato chilli variant, and all the better for it: the oil carries the spice instead of masking it.
 
Eat it straight from the tin on good bread, flake it through pasta with garlic and a splash of the chilli oil itself, or fold through a salad for something that punches well above a tinned fish. Built for people who want their sardines with a bit of edge, without losing the purity of the original.
 
A proper source of protein, Omega-3s and B12 — but the heat's what keeps you coming back.