This cheap fish starter is a rough-and-ready summer hit – and the perky salsa is awesome, too.
Equipment and preparation: for this recipe you will need a barbecue and four, untreated pieces of wood.
Ingredients
- 1 cucumber, cut in half lengthways, seeds scraped out, flesh finely diced
- 1 banana shallot, finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsp chopped fresh dill
- 3 tbsp chopped fresh mint leaves
- 3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander leaves
- 2 limes, juice only
- 16 sardines, scales and guts removed (ask your fishmonger to do this for you)
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
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Soak four pieces of clean thick untreated wood in cold water, preferably overnight.
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Thirty minutes before you want to eat, light the barbecue. Allow the flames to flare up and die down.
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Meanwhile, mix the cucumber, shallot, garlic, oil, herbs and lime juice together in a bowl, then season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Set aside.
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When the barbecue coals are red hot, nail four sardines by the tail to each plank of wood. Place the pieces of wood onto the coals (or alternatively on a rack near the coals) and cook for 5-6 minutes, or until the sardines are charred and cooked through.
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To serve, place four sardines onto each serving plate. Spoon the salsa alongside.
Recipe Tips
The sardines can be cooked under the grill if barbecue weather isn’t forthcoming.
Source: BBC
