Stuffed sardines with parsley dressing

September 11, 2009

I recently moved house and now have the good fortune to live 100 metres from a market that has an excellent fishmonger’s. They must have an extraordinary turnover as there is a constant queue at the counter and the fish is always beautifully fresh.

There are many species on sale from the cheap to the expensive and whole fish are available for those who like the hands-on approach or who want trimmings for stock. When it comes to small fish, however, I prefer to buy them topped, tailed and gutted so I can get straight to work.

Sardines are always a good buy and not expensive. They have good flavour that stands up well to some aggressive seasoning..

If your fishmonger doesn’t have any sardines you can substitute garfish, or use sole fillets with the skin left on.

This is a good dish for a tapas spread where you can skewer  single fish on toothpicks.

Stuffed sardines with parsley dressing

12 sardine double fillets
bunch of flat leaf parsley
6 medium mushrooms
2 spring onions
1 teaspoon sambal oelek (red chilli paste)
salt and freshly ground pepper
oil
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons crumbled feta or fresh goat’s curd cheese
fresh bay leaves
8 cherry tomatoes

Dressing

60ml sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
80ml extra virgin olive oil
1 small clove garlic, crushed and finely chopped
1 tablespoon grain mustard
1 teaspoon lemon zest
10ml lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper
half cup chopped parsley leaves

Finely chop the spring onions and the cleaned mushrooms. Take the stalks from the parsley and finely chop about three heaped tablespoons of stalks.

Heat a little oil in a small pan and sauté the spring onions, mushrooms and parsley stalks until soft, stirring in the sambal oelek towards the end of cooking. Season with salt and pepper then place in a bowl with the breadcrumbs and cheese and mix together. The cheese should help the mixture stick together or you can add a little olive oil or water.

Place a spoonful of the stuffing on each sardine and roll up. Skewer a cherry tomato then place three rolled sardines on the skewer with a bay leaf between each. Finish with a cherry tomato at the end.

Place on a grill tray and drizzle with a little olive oil. Bake in a preheated 200C oven for 10 minutes. Remove to a serving dish.

To make the dressing, whisk together all the ingredient except the parsley, adjusting the seasoning if necessary. Stir in the parsley and spoon over the skewered sardines.

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