Home-smoked sardines with seared tomato salsa
Smoking fish really heightens its flavour, and the tomato salsa offsets it beautifully
Difficulty and servings
Serves 4
Preparation and cooking times
Ready in 30 mins
- PREPARING THE SMOKER - I like to use a steamer to smoke the fish in as they are designed to be a snug fit so none of the smoke can escape. I think wood chips make a much better smoking material than tea, which can impart a bitterness to food. We use applewood chips in the restaurants as they add extra flavour.
- Put the wood chips in the bottom half of the steamer (line it with some foil first to protect the pan). Put the lid on and put over a high heat. It will take about 4-5 minutes for the chips to start blackening and smoking. Keep giving the pan a shake to re-distribute the chips. Once the smoke really starts to get going, throw a few sprigs of rosemary on top of the chips - this will add even more flavour during smoking.
- SMOKING THE FISH - Line the top part of the steamer with a small circle of baking parchment (make sure there are a few holes exposed for the smoke to come through). Drizzle with olive oil then season and lay the sardines flesh-side down on top of the pan with the wood chips so they get seasoned while they smoke. Sit the steamer on top and cover with the lid. You can put a sheet of foil under the lid to give it a better seal if you want. The fillets are quite delicate so they will only take 5 minutes to cook. Leave them alone and don't be tempted to look or you'll get a face full of smoke.
- After 5 minutes take the pan off the heat, remove the top part with the sardines and leave the bottom pan covered with a lid to cool down (put it outside if you like). You want to serve the sardines at room temperature so just put them aside while you make the salsa.
- MAKING THE SALSA - I flash-fry my salsa so that the veg get seared and all the juices are concentrated. Heat a non-stick pan until smoking hot then add a drizzle of olive oil. Tip in the shallots, tomatoes and basil and toss. You want to get a really roasted flavour on to the veg but it will only take a couple of minutes. Use a splash of white balsamic vinegar to deglaze the pan - normal balsamic will stain the salsa and it won't look as attractive. Tip onto a plate so it doesn't keep cooking, then season.
- Fry the soda bread slices in a little olive oil until crisp all over and browned.
- PLATING UP - To serve, put a couple of slices of bread on each plate, top with some of the salsa and 2 of the sardines. Drizzle with a little olive oil and lemon juice to finish.
Sardines
Ask the fishmonger to prepare the sardines; you want them gutted, cleaned, with the head off and the backbone removed, so you are just left with double fillets, joined by the tail.
PER SERVING
477 kcalories, protein 33.9g, carbohydrate 47.2g, fat 18.3 g, saturated fat 3.7g, fibre 3.2g, salt 1.39 g
Recipe from olive magazine, July 2008.
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Ingredients
- 8 sardines , prepared (see box below recipe method)
- 2-3 handfuls applewood smoking chips (buy from hardware shops such as Homebase and B&Q)
- a few sprigs rosemary
- olive oil and lemon juice to serve
- 8 slices brown soda bread
SALSA
- 1 banana shallot or 1 normal shallot, finely sliced
- 300g cherry tomatoes , halved
- small bunch basil , shredded
- white balsamic vinegar
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Difficulty and servings
Serves 4
Preparation and cooking times
Ready in 30 mins
Ingredients
- 8 sardines , prepared (see box below recipe method)
- 2-3 handfuls applewood smoking chips (buy from hardware shops such as Homebase and B&Q)
- a few sprigs rosemary
- olive oil and lemon juice to serve
- 8 slices brown soda bread
SALSA
- 1 banana shallot or 1 normal shallot, finely sliced
- 300g cherry tomatoes , halved
- small bunch basil , shredded
- white balsamic vinegar
PER SERVING
477 kcalories, protein 33.9g, carbohydrate 47.2g, fat 18.3 g, saturated fat 3.7g, fibre 3.2g, salt 1.39 g
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