When I hear people say they don’t like sardines due to the strong flavour, it makes me think they probably haven’t eaten them fresh. I’m not a huge fan of tinned sardines myself, as I find they taste overly rich and metallic; with the taste lingering in my mouth long after eating them. Fresh ones are nothing like that and the beauty about them is they’re very easy to prep, cost next to nothing and most of the bones are so fine you can eat them.
For this recipe I’ve taken the typical flavours of Croatia’s Adriatic coastline and mixed them with a handful of sardines I picked up from my local seafood guy. Eight sardines for just over $2. You’ve gotta love that! What I made was an easy and very light and healthy lunch for the two of us at home. The other half even went as far as dunking a thick slice of sourdough bread onto the marinade and grilling it with the sardines. Increase the ingredient quantities if you have more mouths to feed but just make sure there are at least 4 sardines per person, if you’re cooking this as a starter.
pecene srdele {grilled sardines}
Serves 2
- 8 sardines, cleaned and rinsed well
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, finely grated
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp capers, finely chopped, plus 1 tbsp left whole, to garnish
- salt & pepper, to season
- extra virgin olive oil, to garnish
- lemon wedges, olives & parsley, to garnish
Combine the olive oil, rosemary, garlic, lemon zest and capers in a small bowl. Pour this over the sardines, massage gently and set aside for 10 minutes as you heat your grill or barbecue over a high flame.
Lay the sardines on the grill and cook for 2 minutes on one side. Gently turn them over and cook the other side.
To serve, arrange the cooked sardines on a platter. Season with salt and pepper. Scatter over the olives, capers, parsley and a final drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Serve hot with a salad and bread.
{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
These look delicious. Beautiful. I just made these after having them at a wonderful Italian restaurant. I baked them instead of grilling and it should have come out perfectly, but for some reason they didn’t cook evenly and I had to make my way gently around the bones. I ended up using them for a Russian-style paste instead. Any tricks with the bones?
I love sardines! However, I’ve only ever had them in the tins. My father used to give them to me when I was really little to eat on crackers. He laughed that I would eat something most kids turned their noses to. Also, I just saw a travel documentary on Croatia. What a beautiful country! I was so impressed with the landscape. I don’t know if that is where you are originally from but it is now on my list of places I would like to visit…
Oh man! These look so good. Our conversations did not do this justice. Actually, I think that you might have to make this for me so I can get the entire picture straight in my head! The bit where you mention dunking the bread and grilling it? Genius.
There’s no real trick to the bones as I find it varies with differently sized sardines. I find the larger sardines have tougher bones, which I wouldn’t try eating.
Wow – love the shots. I’m scared of the little bones though – are they edible?
Hi Tina, the little bones aren’t actually that scary. Next time have a little nibble and see if you’re ok with it, then just eat them. They’re meant to be very good for you!
Oh your images are so beautifully styled. I would love to try a dish like this… I wonder if I can get fresh sardines here…
Hi John, when you have sardines like the ones you posted, are you forever picking the bones out or just the backbone you don’t eat? I’ve never tried them like that, only the ones in tins.
Hi Steve, The fillet actually comes off really easy so any little bones are so soft, including the tail and sometimes the spine, you can eat those as well.
These look absolutely scrumptious, John! The flavours would really pack a punch.
You are an evil man. I’m about to eat my computer screen.
I have been thinking about trying sardines myself. They’re so good for you and good for the planet in that they’re one of the few fish that aren’t being over-harvested. Plus, they’re delicious!
Do you get them cleaned by your fishmonger, or do you clean them yourself?
I’m with you regarding tinned sardines! This looks heavenly and so fresh John…great flavours too!
Hi Karen, I agree with you. So many people are set on fish like tuna and salmon and it’s that demand that is doing harm to our supplies. For this recipe I asked the fishmonger to clean them for me as I was feeling lazy. He didn’t do a great job as many of them were torn and roughly cleaned. I do it myself now.
I shared this post on Facebook and my Croatian relatives, a.k.a. the grammar police, took objection to the title and insisted: “srdele na žaru” or “srdele na roštilju” or simply “pe?ene srdele”. Lol. Beautiful pictures and it reminds me so much of Dalmatia. Only there my family literally keeps some of their homemade olive oil in a tea kettle and instead of a small finishing drizzle will pour a very liberal amount on the fish after they come off the grill!
Hi Stephanie, You know, I usually consult google translate so your relatives have a valid point! Looks like I’ll be changing the title!
I am not much of an expert chef but this sounds easy enough to try esp when I LOVE rosemary, garlic, olive oil, and lemon. They are the bulk of my favourite ingredients, though I may skip the capers part hehehe
I wish we could get fresh sardines here in the desert… Sigh. This sounds so good! And, John, that shot of the fishtails is absolutely amazing!
I love sardines. So tasty, nutritious and cheap!
This is a beautiful looking recipe. I’ve never cooked fresh sardines. Thanks for the inspiration. I do whitebait occassionally and similarly appreciate the flavour to dollar ratio. I’ll give these not quite as little critters a go!
I was put off fresh sardines for years after my brother-in-law decided he was going to cook them on the BBQ one Christmas. Let’s just say (nicely), he didn’t do them justice. I have since discovered a new appreciation for them.