Spicy Stuffed Sardines Recipe

What you'll need:

• A bunch of coriander, chopped
• 1 crushed garlic clove
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp ground paprika
• ½ chopped red chilli
• A small pinch of saffron, soaked in some water
• Sea salt and black pepper
• Some olive oil
• Lemon juice, to taste
• 4 sardines, butterflied (sliced down the middle and flattened)

Time: 30 minutes

Serves: 2

Method

First

First of all, you need to make your stuffing paste. In a food processor (you can also use a pestle and mortar if you don’t have one), add the chopped coriander, the garlic, the chilli and the spices. Pulse until you have a coarse, aromatic paste. Put into a bowl.

Second

Add some olive oil to your paste, along with some seasoning and lemon juice. You want it to have a consistency similar to a good mayonnaise.

Third

Spread this paste liberally all over the insides of two of the sardines. Place the other two sardines on top, to create a ‘sardine sandwich’ with the paste inside as the filling. Season the exposed skin with sea salt.

Fourth

Heat some oil in a frying pan until very hot, and turn on your grill at the same time. Fry the filled ‘sardine sandwiches’ for two minutes in the pan, then place under the hot grill - they’re ready when the skin is crisp and the fish is cooked through. Serve with a green salad, and some grilled toast.

There you have it -- an easy recipe for Spicy Stuffed Sardines!

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