Sardines with Chili, spicy summer fish from Anzio
Pollastrini sardines with chili come from Italy’s only canned sardine producer, located in Anzio south of Rome, featuring red chili peppers in olive oil. Firm in texture, piquant in the finish – not mass-produced, but handcrafted directly from the Mediterranean.
Sardines with chili are whole, cleaned sardines preserved in olive oil with red chili peppers. Pollastrini’s Sardine di Anzio come from the Sepe family; they are clean and firm to the bite with a subtle heat—a spicy little luxury that awakens any appetizer platter. You don’t need more than three good things: sardines, olive oil, and red chili, to have the taste of the South on your plate.
Firm in texture, delicate in heat
These sardines with chili impress with their clear sardine flavor, firm consistency, and a warm, not overly aggressive chili heat. Just right for those who like things lively.
The heat comes from real red chili peppers that are added to the tin, gently layering over the clean taste of the sea—piquant, savory, and appetizing. The sardine, a small fish with a shimmering silver belly, is caught throughout the season in the Mediterranean, ensuring consistent freshness. The olive oil binds the fish and chili into a well-rounded whole, and you can immediately tell that this is true craftsmanship.
On spaghetti aglio e olio and bruschetta
Sardines with chili enrich any appetizer plate and taste just as good with crusty bread as they do on pizza or in a summery green salad. A fish that makes a lot out of a little.
Flaked over spaghetti aglio e olio, they bring the perfect amount of heat, and they are equally excellent on toasted bruschetta with a squeeze of lemon. They are a delight with a well-chilled, dry white wine on the terrace, and in a quick pasta dish, they come to your rescue in 5 minutes, saving many an evening. If you love heat, discover more in our selection of sardines and accompaniments for your aperitif.
Caught by hand, packed by hand
There is only one remaining Italian producer of canned sardines: Sardine Pollastrini di Anzio, an hour's drive south of Rome. All of Italy eats fish, but this is the only house that cans it.
Salvatore Pollastrini founded the first Italian sardine cannery here in 1889, and since the 1950s, the Sepe family has continued to run the house with over sixty years of fishing experience. They still fish today using the "gozzo," a brightly lit boat that lures schools of sardines to the surface at night, just as Salvatore Pollastrini began doing.
The following morning, the fresh sardines are hand-selected, gutted, cleaned, and trimmed to size, then packed into nostalgic tins with red chili peppers and olive oil. The fishing is done with care—pure craftsmanship for over 130 years. Quite impressive.
A touch of fresh parsley on top
Turn the tin over occasionally so that the oil, chili, and fish combine evenly. Once opened, they will keep in the refrigerator for one to two days, preferably covered with some oil. If you sprinkle a little fresh parsley on top and add a slice of lemon, a tin becomes a small summer meal in an instant.
Net weight 100g – Drained weight 70g
Contents 100g – Drained weight 70g