Recipe courtesy of Alfama

Grilled Sardines

  • Level: Easy
  • Yield: 2 servings
  • Total: 50 min
  • Prep: 20 min
  • Cook: 30 min
Advertisement

Ingredients

6 medium sized fresh sardines

1/2 handful coarse sea salt

2 baking potatoes, like russets

2 red bell peppers

1/4 cup Portuguese olive oil, plus 1/4 cup

1/8 cup white wine vinegar

1/2 onion, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

Salt and white pepper

Directions

  1. Scale and gut the sardines (you can have your fishmonger do this). Wash the sardines under cold, running water and pat dry with paper towels. Lightly salt the sardines with coarse sea salt and refrigerate. Meanwhile, boil 2 potatoes until a knife is easily inserted. Drain and cool.
  2. Roast 2 red bell peppers over an open flame until charred. Place in a bowl and cover it with plastic to allow it to steam for approximately 20 minutes. Remove the plastic and peel and seed the peppers.
  3. Cut peppers into 3-inch wide strips and combine in bowl with 1/4 cup of olive oil, 1/8 cup white wine vinegar, onion, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
  4. Preheat a grill.
  5. Place the sardines on a hot grill. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise and place on the grill. When the sardines are done on first side, flip them over, and give the potatoes a quarter turn to create the grill marks.
  6. Place 3 sardines on each plate with 2 potato halves and some red pepper salad. For decoration and extra flavor, sprinkle with some thinly sliced onions and garlic over the sardines and drizzle with remaining olive oil.
  7. The ideal accompaniment for this dish is some Portuguese rolls and a nicely chilled Vinho Verde Portuguese wine.

Let's Get Cooking!

Sign up for the Recipe of the Day newsletter to receive editor-picked recipes,tips and videos delivered to your inbox daily. Privacy Policy

Thanks for subscribing to the Recipe of the Day newsletter. Check out all our other great newsletters from Easy Recipes, Healthy Eating Ideas and Chef Recipe Videos.

We're sorry, there was an error signing you up. Please try again later.

Advertisement

CTHELITE

I have never had fresh sardines before, only the ubiquitous preserved type in the little cans that are topped with olive oil, mustard, or tomato sauce. However, I saw a television show that featured Portuguese recipes and a fresh sardine recipe was included. I put the ingredient on my list of things to try. Then, I walked into my local supermarket and they had whole, frozen sardines on sale. I'm sure that fresh caught would have been the epitome, but I can attest to the fact that this recipe was delicious with the thawed, gutted, and seasoned sardines that I used. Sorry, Nick, I had to gut 'em. LOL. I also had to make a change in the potatoes because I did not have white potatoes on hand, only sweet potatoes. I baked them, added a pat of butter, cinnamon, and Splenda (you could use sugar) and served them with the sardines and the roasted red pepper salad. It was divine. I will definitely try this again with the white potatoes and, probably, with the bread that Nick suggested. I am waiting for a chance to serve this dish to company. It's a keeper.

See All Reviews