Vine Wrapped Sardines

A delightful recipe for those of you who love seafood. Take the simple sardine, stuff individually with fresh herbs and a tangy cider vinegar sauce and wrap in vine leaves. Best cooked either by the BBQ or a hot oven grill. Simple, nutritious and extremely delicious.

20 minutes

2 minutes each side per fish

BBQ or grill

Ingredients

12 fresh sardines

- cleaned, gutted and prepared
Vine leaves

- vacuum packed or bottled
Extra virgin olive oil
Herby Cider Vinegar Sauce and Stuffing
3 red onions
2 cloves of garlic
1 lemon

- juice and rind
1 large handful of fresh chives
1 large handful of fennel leaves
1 large handful parsley
A pinch of sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
100ml of boiling hot water
3 tbsp cider vinegar
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
Garnish
Fresh lemon wedges

Instructions

Prepare sardines:
01 Remove scales and innards.
Make Sauce and Stuffing:
02 Place onions, herbs, lemon rind, garlic and seasonings in a food processor. Whizz up until finely chopped. Reserve a small amount for stuffing the sardines. Now add boiling water and both vinegars. Mix well and place in serving bowl. Reserve for when required.
Prepare to BBQ:
03 Lightly oil sardines all over and stuff with a small amount of the reserved stuffing in their bellies. Open up the vine leaves and thoroughly coat with oil before wrapping around the sardines. The oil helps to keep the sardines moist during cooking.
Cook/BBQ:
04 Once wrapped the sardines are ready to cook – just 2 minutes on each side.
Serve:
05 They need to be served immediately with plenty of fresh lemon and spoonfuls of the wicked sauce.

Notes

Don’t waste time preparing the sardines. Ask the man at the fish counter or at the market to de-scale and gut. It does not cost much and my does it save time! This recipe can be made ahead of time. Just keep the vine leaf wrapped sardines covered and well chilled in the fridge and cook when required – though do make sure you cook and eat the fish the day of purchase.