Give Store-Bought Pesto A Major Flavor Boost With One Canned Ingredient

There's no better showcase for basil's delicious flavor than a super versatile, always impressive, and endlessly craveable pesto sauce. This verdant Italian condiment is endlessly useful; you can incorporate it into appetizers, entrees, pastas, proteins and more. Fortunately, there are tons of tasty store-bought options that make bringing this sauce home and putting it to use a snap. But a jar of prepared sauce can always be taken to the next level — and in this case, it all comes down to adding one ingredient you probably haven't considered. We're talking about sardines. 

Sardines – tiny fish beloved by many cultures thanks to their major flavor — are an ideal addition to the perfect simplicity of pesto sauce. These swimmers are texturally meatier and more substantial than their cousin, the anchovy, and pack a ton of salty, briny goodness. In a classic pesto, that salinity is a welcome complement. It provides balance to sweet and buttery pignoli nuts, and helps to bring out the best in fragrant, fruity olive oil, herbaceous basil, and bright lemon.

The type of sardine you pick will impact your pesto dish, so it's best to experiment until you figure out what you like best. Learning how to choose the best sardines is a great starting point. It's also helpful to know that these fish come in a few iterations. You can find them packed in oil or water; either works for your store-bought pesto, but be aware that the former will bring a little extra fat and richness to the sauce. You can also buy pre-seasoned sardines, which boast olives, garlic, and bell peppers for extra flavor, or even swim in tomato juice. Sardines are cooked, and sometimes smoked prior to their packaging, so in comparison to other tinned fish, you might find them a bit less pungent. That tinge of smokiness is a big plus for many.

Because they're quite tender out of the tin, you can simply mash sardines into your sauce with a spoon or the tines of a fork until you reach a consistency you like (this can be rustic and a little chunky, or a bit more smooth with some extra mixing). Once your can has been opened, you can stash any leftover sardines in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 or 4 days.

There's a great case to be made for purchasing more sardines than you need for your pesto. These little fishies boost more than just the flavor of your sauce; they bring major benefits on the nutritional front, too. Sardines are packed with protein, not to mention heart-healthy goodness like omega-3 fatty acids, and a host of vitamins and minerals. They promote strong bones and muscles, support eyesight and cognitive health, and help reduce inflammation.

Combined with the some of the other good stuff in pesto (antioxidants from the basil and oil, antiviral properties from garlic, and extra protein from both the pine nuts and the grated cheese,among many other qualities), you've got a powerhouse of ingredients on your hands, all in a single dish. You can use this sardine-spiked sauce on pasta, spread it on your morning toast with a few fresh tomatoes and fried or poached eggs, or mix it into an ancient grains bowl for a not-sad-at-all desk lunch. This simple canned addition to an easy-to-pick-up store-bought pesto can inspire a whole menu of healthy, flavorful foods for any time of day.