Saturday 10 July 2010

FRESH and SIMPLE SARDINES

If you are lucky enough to be close to the sea then this is another season to enjoy. Close to London, in Cornwall and elsewhere, the sardines are coming in plump and tasty. This is what I cherish, nice local fresh and tasty fish that gives me all the omega fatty acids i need without buying a silly fish oil pill!!! Sorry, but its true, the fish cost 4 pounds for a kilo, which is ridiculously cheap, and if you buy the pills shipped in from New Zealand or wherever, they cost much more and you still need to cook yourself some dinner...I prefer to swallow my medicine one forkful at a time!!!!

So as part of a nice fresh Friday night meal all on the BBQ, as it was too hot to cook indoors,we made two fish courses...firstly, grilled/BBQ sardines with herbs and then we threw a big ole squid, some peppers, and mushrooms on the BBQ and served that with grilled feta, home made tortillas, and a salsa vinaigrette...

Below is the simple method for grilling sardines on your BBQ:

WHAT YOU NEED
1 kg( 2 pounds) fresh sardines, gutted and rinsed ( head and tail on please)
4 T olive oil
2 sprigs green onion ( or fresh onion and garlic)
1/3 bunch coriander ( or your favorite fresh green herb)
1 lemon ( or any other citrus you desire)
salt, pepper


WHAT TO DO
  1. Heat BBQ till mound of coals are grey and hot, push them to one side to form a hot side and a cooler side.
  2. While BBQ is heating, rinse sardines, pat dry and sprinkle liberally with salt.
  3. In mortar and pestle (or food processor) add chopped up green onion( stems and bulb), coriander, juice of half the lemon and 2 T olive oil...blend till rough paste.
  4. After grill is ready, rinse salt off sardines, drizzle with olive oil and fresh salt and cracked pepper.
  5. Make sure grill is clean ( with a wire brush or wad of aluminum foil!!!) and then rub some vegetable oil over grill rack to prepare for the fish.
  6. Place fish on a moderately hot section of grill and let cook for 2-3 minutes depending on sizes of fish.
  7. Flip each fish, brush with a bit more olive oil and finish cooking for 2-3 more minutes.
  8. Place on platter with fresh lemon and herb relish and serve immediately.
MORE DISHES TO NOT WASH
  1. These are small fish and the spine should pull off in one flick of your fork.
  2. Try this method with lots of fish this summer....grilling/bbq with simple fresh herbs and citrus is a great way to enjoy a hot summer.
  3. Think ahead and BBQ some veggies as well...asparagus, peppers, bok choy, tomatoes....and serve with a simple vinaigrette ( lemon, herbs, olive oil, s,p)
  4. We made fresh tortillas and often make flat breads on the grill...i will save this for an upcoming post...but any bread on the BBQ/grill with a splash of olive oil is a wonderfully easy treat!!!

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