Portuguese Grilled Sardines with Charred Pepper Salad
In Lisbon in June the whole city smells of sardines on the grill. This is that feast brought indoors: whole sardines rubbed with smoked paprika and lemon, blistered hard in a smoking-hot pan and piled onto a sweet, silky salad of charred peppers, with garlic-rubbed toast to catch every drop. It is cheap, fast, packed with omega-3s and on the table in 35 minutes.
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Nutrition (per serving)
In Lisbon in June the whole city smells of sardines on the grill. This is that feast brought indoors: whole sardines rubbed with smoked paprika and lemon, blistered hard in a smoking-hot pan and piled onto a sweet, silky salad of charred peppers, with garlic-rubbed toast to catch every drop. It is cheap, fast, packed with omega-3s and on the table in 35 minutes.
The trick is heat and patience. Sardines are oily enough to baste themselves, so a ripping-hot pan gives you crackling skin in minutes, as long as you leave them alone until they release. The peppers do their work in the background: once they have steamed under a plate the skins slip right off and the flesh turns soft and sweet, ready to soak up a sharp sherry vinegar dressing. Ask your fishmonger to scale and gut the sardines; fresh anchovies or small mackerel work too.
Step-by-step instructions
Char the peppers whole under a hot broiler or directly over a gas flame, turning every few minutes, for 10 to 12 minutes until the skins are blackened and blistered all over. Transfer to a bowl, cover with a plate and leave to steam for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, pat the sardines very dry inside and out with paper towels. Rub them with 1 tbsp of the olive oil, the smoked paprika, the lemon zest and a generous pinch of coarse salt, and leave them to sit while you make the salad.
Peel and seed the peppers, tear the flesh into long strips and toss with the red onion, sliced garlic, vinegar, 2 tbsp of the olive oil, half the parsley and a little salt and black pepper.
Heat a ridged grill pan or heavy skillet over high heat until smoking. Grill the sardines for 2 to 3 minutes per side without moving them, until the skin is blistered and charred and the flesh lifts easily from the bone.
Brush the bread with the last of the oil and toast it in the same pan until charred at the edges, then rub with the cut garlic. Pile the pepper salad on a platter, lay the sardines on top and finish with the remaining parsley and lemon wedges.
Eat them the Portuguese way: lay a sardine on the toast, lift the top fillet off with a fork, then pull out the spine in one piece. The pepper salad keeps for 3 days in the fridge and only gets better, so make a double batch.
Ingredients
- 8 fresh whole sardines (about 600 g), scaled and gutted
- 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 lemon, zested, then cut into wedges
- Coarse sea salt and black pepper
- 3 red bell peppers
- 1/2 small red onion, very thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves: 1 thinly sliced, 1 halved
- 1 tbsp sherry vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
- Small bunch flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
- 4 thick slices rustic sourdough or crusty bread
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Step-by-Step
- 1
Char the peppers whole under a hot broiler or directly over a gas flame, turning every few minutes, for 10 to 12 minutes until the skins are blackened and blistered all over. Transfer to a bowl, cover with a plate and leave to steam for 10 minutes.
- 2
Meanwhile, pat the sardines very dry inside and out with paper towels. Rub them with 1 tbsp of the olive oil, the smoked paprika, the lemon zest and a generous pinch of coarse salt, and leave them to sit while you make the salad.
- 3
Peel and seed the peppers, tear the flesh into long strips and toss with the red onion, sliced garlic, vinegar, 2 tbsp of the olive oil, half the parsley and a little salt and black pepper.
- 4
Heat a ridged grill pan or heavy skillet over high heat until smoking. Grill the sardines for 2 to 3 minutes per side without moving them, until the skin is blistered and charred and the flesh lifts easily from the bone.
- 5
Brush the bread with the last of the oil and toast it in the same pan until charred at the edges, then rub with the cut garlic. Pile the pepper salad on a platter, lay the sardines on top and finish with the remaining parsley and lemon wedges.
Recipe
Portuguese Grilled Sardines with Charred Pepper Salad
Ingredients
- 8 fresh whole sardines (about 600 g), scaled and gutted
- 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 lemon, zested, then cut into wedges
- Coarse sea salt and black pepper
- 3 red bell peppers
- 1/2 small red onion, very thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves: 1 thinly sliced, 1 halved
- 1 tbsp sherry vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
- Small bunch flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
- 4 thick slices rustic sourdough or crusty bread
Instructions
- 1
Char the peppers whole under a hot broiler or directly over a gas flame, turning every few minutes, for 10 to 12 minutes until the skins are blackened and blistered all over. Transfer to a bowl, cover with a plate and leave to steam for 10 minutes.
- 2
Meanwhile, pat the sardines very dry inside and out with paper towels. Rub them with 1 tbsp of the olive oil, the smoked paprika, the lemon zest and a generous pinch of coarse salt, and leave them to sit while you make the salad.
- 3
Peel and seed the peppers, tear the flesh into long strips and toss with the red onion, sliced garlic, vinegar, 2 tbsp of the olive oil, half the parsley and a little salt and black pepper.
- 4
Heat a ridged grill pan or heavy skillet over high heat until smoking. Grill the sardines for 2 to 3 minutes per side without moving them, until the skin is blistered and charred and the flesh lifts easily from the bone.
- 5
Brush the bread with the last of the oil and toast it in the same pan until charred at the edges, then rub with the cut garlic. Pile the pepper salad on a platter, lay the sardines on top and finish with the remaining parsley and lemon wedges.
Nutrition Facts
* The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.