Michel Roux Jr's grilled sardines with ham and basil recipe
A little fish that packs a serious punch of flavour, this recipe takes sardines on toast to another level. The relish can be kept refrigerated for up to 5 days.
Ingredients
- 36 sardine fillets
- 1 bunch of basil
- 1 pinch pepper
- 9 thin slices of Parma ham sliced in half lengthways
- 8 large tomatoes
- 3 shallots, peeled and chopped
- 2 tbsp malt vinegar
- 1 tbsp of tomato paste
- 2 tbsp muscovado sugar
- 1 pinch salt and pepper
- 1 pinch of chilli powder
- 1 tbsp each of mint, basil and coriander, roughly chopped
Details
- Cuisine: French
- Recipe Type: Starter
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation Time: 20 mins
- Cooking Time: 15 mins
- Serves: 6
Step-by-step
- Place 3 basil leaves on a sardine fillet, season with pepper and place another fillet on top.
- Wrap each pair of fillets in a slice of ham and hold together with a wooden cocktail stick.
- Grill for 4 minutes each side and serve with the relish.
- If you want to serve the sardines with toast, grill some slices of sourdough bread and rub with a little garlic. Top with some relish followed by the sardines.
- For the tomato relish: blanch the tomatoes and remove the skin. De-seed them and chop roughly.
- Put the shallots and garlic in a pan with the vinegar and 2 tablespoons of water. Simmer until almost dry, then add the tomato paste and sugar.
- Continue to cook and stir for 3-4 minutes. Add the tomato flesh, season to taste with salt, pepper and chilli powder and simmer for 10-12 minutes until cooked.
- When cool, fold in the roughly chopped herbs.
Recipe taken from The Everyday Roux guide in association with the Council of Bordeaux Wines
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