José Pizarro’s recipe for grilled sardines with blackberry escabeche
One of my favourite summer memories is making collares de moras as a child in Extremadura, which involved threading wild blackberries on to a piece of straw to make little necklaces.
Ingredients · Servings 4
- 3tbsp olive oil
- 2 banana shallots peeled and finely sliced
- 1 red or orange bell pepper pith and seeds removed, flesh finely sliced
- 4-5 fresh thyme sprigs
- 2tsp coriander seeds
- 1tsp black peppercorns
- 1small pinch chilli flakes (optional)
- 200ml white-wine vinegar or cider vinegar
- 200ml white wine
- 150g blackberries washed
- Sea salt and black pepper
- 8 8 good-sized fresh sardines, butterflied (ask the fishmonger to do this for you, if need be)
Method · 1 h 35 min
- Heat a tablespoon of the oil, then gently fry the shallots and bell pepper for six or seven minutes, until lovely and tender.
- Add the thyme and spices, fry for a minute more, then add the vinegar, wine and 100 ml water, bring to a simmer and cook until the liquid has reduced by about half.
- Stir in the blackberries, then take off the heat and leave to cool slightly.
- Meanwhile, put the rest of the oil in a large nonstick frying pan on a high heat.
- Season the butterflied sardines inside and out, then fry them skin-side down for three or four minutes, until golden and crisp.
- Flip over and fry for just a minute longer on the flesh side.
- Arrange the cooked sardines skin-side up and side by side in a suitable deep-sided dish, pour the warm all over the top, then leave to marinate and cool down for at least an hour.
- Serve at once, or cover and chill in the fridge until you're ready to eat.
Grilled sardines with blackberry escabeche
4-5 fresh thyme sprigs 2 tsp coriander seeds 1 tsp black peppercorns 1 small pinch chilli flakes (optional)
, butterflied (ask the fishmonger to do this for you, if need be) Sea salt and black pepper 8 good-sized fresh sardines
Arrange the cooked sardines skin-side up and side by side in a suitable deep-sided dish, pour the warm escabeche all over the top, then leave to marinate and cool down for at least an hour. Serve at once, or cover and chill in the fridge until you’re ready to eat.
