A chopped salad featuring canned sardines and preserved lemon is turning up on lunch menus across Lower Manhattan this week. The dish, which combines crisp cucumbers, tomatoes, and pita chips with the briny citrus, was seen at two different cafes along Houston Street on Thursday afternoon. Chefs cite the appeal of sardines as both affordable and shelf-stable, a consideration as seafood prices rise.
Preserved lemon, once a fixture mostly in North African kitchens, is now appearing in salads and dressings at casual spots from Williamsburg to the Upper West Side. At Lella’s on Avenue B, the salad is priced at $17, served cold, and garnished with a handful of fried pita chips for extra texture. The kitchen reports an uptick in orders during this week’s heatwave, as customers look for lighter meals that travel well for park lunches.
The blend of preserved lemon and sardines offers a sharp, salty flavor profile that some diners find polarizing. Still, staff at Lella’s say the combination has found a steady audience among regulars seeking alternatives to tuna or chicken salad.
With temperatures hovering near 90 degrees, salads with preserved ingredients are likely to remain a fixture through July. Several chefs mentioned plans to experiment with pickled vegetables and different canned fish as the season progresses.