I stared at the man.
‘How many tins of sardines did you eat, Jeeves?’
‘None, sir. I am not fond of sardines.’
‘You mean, you thought of this great, this ripe, this amazing scheme entirely without the impetus given to the brain by fish?’
‘Yes, sir.’

[From Very Good, Jeeves, (c) 1930 by P.G. Wodehouse]

How many times a month do you eat seafood? And, more importantly, why should you care? Well, according to a recent study¹ published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, it was determined that weekly consumption of baked or broiled fish is associated with large gray matter volumes in the areas of the brain that are responsible for cognition and memory. Fried anything, let alone fish, is not healthy (although it sure is tasty!).

Another study² published in JAMA (The Journal of the American Medical Association) on February 2, 2016, reinforced what many of us suspected all along: that, mercury levels aside, fish is really good for the brain. In fact, eating fish regularly can actually reduce the risk of dementia – more specifically, Alzheimer’s Disease. Furthermore, the researchers concluded that as we age, we lose a critical lipid in the brain, DHA, and that “fish consumption (therefore) may be more beneficial with older age.”

But why wait until then? We should be proactive and start consuming fish regularly… now – well before we reach our golden years. I intend to significantly increase my intake of seafood in 2017. In fact, I ate salmon on January 1st and today (January 4th) I ate a phenomenal serving of spaghetti with sardines. It  was the tastiest spaghetti that I have had in a long time. Now I have never posted a recipe on this blog site. Ever. But I will today. That’s how fabulous this recipe really is. You can add your own elements to it – but whatever you do, don’t leave out the sardines!

BRAIN FOOD

Spaghetti with Sardines

Ingredients

• 14 oz spaghetti  (I use Rao’s homemade spaghetti)
• 1 tbsp  olive oil
• 2 garlic clove, crushed
• pinch of chilli flakes
• 8 oz can chopped tomato (or the equivalent amount of chopped fresh plum or Roma tomatoes)
• 2 cans skinless and boneless sardines in tomato sauce (or in olive oil)
• 1/3 cup of pitted black olives, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp capers, drained
• 1/4 cup of fresh parsley, chopped

Directions

• Cook the spaghetti in a large pot of boiling salted water, according to the instructions on your package of spaghetti.  Meanwhile, make the sauce. Heat the oil in a medium pan and cook the garlic for 1 min. Add the chili flakes, tomatoes and sardines, breaking up roughly with a wooden spoon. Heat for 2-3 mins, then stir in the olives, capers and most of the parsley. Mix well to combine.
• Drain the pasta.  Place the pasta on the plate. Add the sauce on top or and mix well (your preference). Garnish with the remaining parsley.

Yield: Serves 4

Endnotes:

¹ Raji, Cyrus A. et al. “Regular Fish Consumption and Age-Related Brain Gray Matter Loss.” American Journal of Preventative Medicine, Volume 47, Issue 4, 444-451.

² Morris MC, Brockman J, Schneider JA, Wang Y, Bennett DA, Tangney CC, van de Rest O. “Association of Seafood Consumption, Brain Mercury Level, and APOE ε4 Status With Brain Neuropathology in Older Adults.” JAMA. 2016;315(5):. doi:10.1001/jama.2015.19451