There is more to sardines than just toast. While the ones crammed into tins are an indispensable, store-cupboard ingredient, there’s so much to love about fresh sardines, too. They are cheap, sustainable, versatile, packed full of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins and minerals, and, most importantly, they are delicious and cook in no time at all. I especially love their buttery texture and saline flavour. Ask your fishmonger to remove the heads and gut them for you, but if you fancy having a go yourself, just chop off their heads, make a split in their bellies, scrape out the innards and rinse.
Barbecued sardines with quick pickled fennel and zhoug
Whole sardines are the perfect fish for a barbecue. They cook very quickly and are lovely served with this bright, spiky and aromatic Yemeni sauce.
Prep 20 min
Cook 20 min
Serves 4
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp pul biber
Sea salt and pepper
8 fresh sardines, gutted
Lemon wedges, to serve
For the pickled fennel
200ml white wine vinegar
A large pinch of sea salt
100g caster sugar
1 large fennel bulb, thinly sliced (use a mandoline, if you have one)
1 tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed
For the zhoug
1 big bunch coriander, roughly chopped, stalks and all
2 garlic cloves
1 green chilli, chopped, seeds and all
Seeds from 4 cardamom pods, crushed
1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and crushed
1 tsp caraway seeds, toasted and crushed
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
50ml olive oil
Whisk the oil, pul biber and some seasoning in a shallow bowl, then add the sardines and toss to coat. Leave to marinate while you get on with the fennel and zhoug.
To pickle the fennel, bring the vinegar, salt and sugar to a boil, then take off the heat, add the sliced fennel and fennel seeds, and leave to cool.
For the zhoug, put all the ingredients except the oil in a blender, whiz to a coarse paste, then add the oil, blend again and season to taste.
Heat a barbecue (or griddle pan). Cook the sardines for three to four minutes on each side, or until caramelised and charred. Serve with the pickled fennel, a drizzle of zhoug and a wedge of lemon.
Sardine pakoras with dill and cucumber raita
These crowd-pleasing pakoras are best served hot out of the fryer with an ice-cold beer. If you’re nervous about bones, don’t be – they are so small that you can eat them without too much worry.
Prep 20 min
Salt 20-30 min
Cook 15 min
Serves 4
75g chickpea flour
25g cornflour
1 tsp baking powder
1 thumb-sized piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
½ tsp chilli powder
¼ tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ajwain or carom seeds
Sea salt, to taste
Sunflower oil, for deep frying
8 fresh sardines, cleaned and butterflied
Chaat masala, to taste
Lime wedges, to serve
For the dill and cucumber raita
½ cucumber, deseeded and coarsely grated
Sea salt and pepper
250g natural yoghurt
1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and roughly crushed
1 green chilli, finely chopped, seeds and all
1 handful dill, roughly chopped
The juice of 1 lime
A pinch of caster sugar
First make the raita. Put the grated cucumber in a colander lined with a clean tea towel, sprinkle with salt and leave to sit for 20-30 minutes. Squeeze out any excess moisture from the cucumber, then stir it into the yoghurt with the remaining raita ingredients and refrigerate until required.
Sift the chickpea flour, cornflour and baking powder into a bowl, add the spices apart from the chaat masala, season with salt, then whisk in about 200ml water; if the batter is still a little stiff, add more water until it has the consistency of double cream.
Heat the oil in a deep, heavy-based saucepan (no more than half-full) to 180C (if you don’t have a thermometer or probe, it’s ready when a cube of bread turns golden in 20 seconds) and line a plate with kitchen paper. Dip the sardines into the batter, shake off any excess, then deep fry in batches for two to three minutes, until crisp and golden brown. Drain on the kitchen paper, sprinkle with the chaat masala and serve hot with the raita and wedges of lime alongside.
Griddled sardine bruschetta with tomato and basil
Sardines piled on to Italian bread with perfumed basil and ripe tomatoes will transport you to coastal holiday lunches.
Prep 15 min
Steep 1 hr
Cook 20 min
Serves 2
4 fresh sardines, gutted and heads removed
Olive oil
2 slices ciabatta or sourdough
1 garlic clove, peeled and halved
2 ripe tomatoes, sliced
A few basil leaves, torn
For the dressing
1 red onion, peeled and sliced into fine rings
2 tbsp good olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp dried oregano
A little sea salt
An hour or so before you want to cook, make the dressing by steeping the onion in the oil, vinegar, lemon juice, oregano and salt to taste – the acid will make the onion soft and translucent, and take away any acrid flavour, leaving it mellow and sweet.
Heat a griddle or frying pan until it’s very hot. Brush the sardines with a little olive oil. Rub the bread with the garlic and drizzle with some olive oil. Put the fish and the bread on the griddle and cook for three to four minutes on each side, until the bread is golden and the sardines opaque-fleshed and charred.
Put the sardines on the bruschetta, top with the sliced tomatoes, onion salad and basil, and serve.
