Few fish speak of summer more eloquently than sardines. They are the flavour of the Mediterranean seaside, their salty aroma wafting enticingly off searing charcoal grills from Morocco and Spain in the west to Greece and Turkey in the east. Their oily flesh can take harder cooking than many other fish, remaining succulent even when the skin has become deliciously charred.
Simplicity is the way to go here: they need only a squeeze of lemon, but their richness also partners well with other bright flavours – a scattering of capers, perhaps, or as here, a few sliced olives, some vivid green herbs and the crisply refreshing aniseed notes of wafer-thin slices of fennel.
Ingredients (serves 4)
2 fennel bulbs (keep any fronds)
16-20 pitted green olives, halved
A sheaf of chives, cut into 3cm lengths
A small bunch of flat leaf parsley, leaf picked from stalks
Juice and zest of 1 lemon, plus lemon quarters to serve
2 medium cloves garlic, roughly chopped
8 large sardines (or 12-16 smaller ones), gutted
Extra virgin olive oil
Dried chilli flakes
Sea salt flakes
Method
Thinly slice the fennel with a sharp knife or mandolin. Put in a mixing bowl with the olives, chives, the fennel fronds and half the parsley leaves.
Put the remaining parsley on a board with the lemon zest and garlic and chop together coarsely – it doesn’t need to be too fine.
Preheat a non-stick griddle pan (or use a barbecue – though you might want to use a fish clamp or the sardines may stick). Pat the skin of the sardines dry with a bit of kitchen paper and rub with oil. Place on a plate or board and sprinkle with a couple of pinches of dried chilli. Scatter with salt flakes.
Place on the hot griddle pan and cook for 3-4 minutes each side, depending on size, turning carefully halfway through. You want them to be cooked through and nicely burnished on the outside. Divide between plates. Scatter with the chopped parsley, lemon and garlic mixture.
Add the lemon juice to the fennel mixture, along with a good pinch of salt flakes and 3-4 tbsp olive oil. Toss together and serve with the sardines, adding a trickle more olive oil and an extra squeeze of lemon to the fish if you want.
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