Name: Sicilian stuffed sardines
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 85g fresh breadcrumb; 50g black olive stoned and roughly chopped; large handful parsley roughly chopped; small handful mint leaves, finely chopped; 1 lemon zested and sliced; 4 anchovy fillets; 1 garlic clove crushed; 25g pine nut; 25g sultana; pinch of chilli flakes (optional); 1 large fennel bulb finely sliced, fronds reserved; 3 tbsp olive oil; 8 sardines butterflied with tails kept intact; 8 bay leaves

Home
Recipes
Sicilian stuffed sardines

Sicilian stuffed sardines

Barney Desmazery

Save recipe

Serves 4

Easy

Prep: 15 mins

Cook: 20 mins

A star rating of 5 out of 5.2 ratingsRate

loading...

Fresh sardines are plentiful and thrifty- this sunshine recipe teams them with fennel, parsley, mint, sultanas, pine nuts and more

Freezable

Skip to ingredients

Alternatives

Complete the dish

Showing items 1 to 3 of 3

Saltimbocca

A star rating of 4.9 out of 5.12 ratings

Campari & soda

A star rating of 3.7 out of 5.3 ratings

Ingredients

Nutrition

Units:

MetricUS

85g fresh breadcrumb
50g black olive

stoned and roughly chopped
large handful parsley

roughly chopped
small handful mint

leaves, finely chopped
1 lemon

zested and sliced
4 anchovy

fillets
1 garlic clove

crushed
25g pine nut
25g sultana
pinch of chilli flakes

(optional)
1 large fennel bulb

finely sliced, fronds reserved
3 tbsp olive oil
8 sardines

butterflied with tails kept intact
8 bay leaves

Keep the screen awake with cook mode on the Good Food app.

Nutrition: per serving

kcal585
fat34g
saturates7g
carbs23g
sugars7g
fibre3g
protein47g
salt1.6g

Method

step 1

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Put the breadcrumbs, olives, parsley, mint, lemon zest, anchovies and garlic in a food processor, and blitz until everything is roughly chopped. Tip into a bowl and stir through the pine nuts, sultanas, chilli flakes (if using) and a good grinding of black pepper. Arrange the fennel slices in a small roasting dish and drizzle with a little olive oil.
step 2

Working methodically, lay each fish fillet, skin-side down, on your work surface, cover with some of the crumb mixture, then drizzle ½ tsp olive oil over each. Roll up the fillets, leaving the tails sticking up. Use a cocktail stick to secure, then stuff a little more of the crumb mixture into the sides.
step 3

Arrange the rolled-up sardines on the fennel, scatter over the remaining crumb mixture, then pop the slices of lemon and bay leaves in the gaps. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil and season with sea salt and pepper. Bake in the oven for 20 mins until the fish is cooked through and the crumbs are golden and crisp in places. Serve scattered with the fennel fronds.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, August 2013

Comments, questions and tips

Rate this recipe

What is your star rating out of 5?1 star out of 52 stars out of 53 stars out of 54 stars out of 55 stars out of 5

Choose the type of message you'd like to post

CommentQuestionTip

Overall rating

A star rating of 5 out of 5.2 ratings

Get 3 months of Good Food All Access

Get 3 months of Good Food All Access for just £6. Find triple-tested recipes that take the stress out of deciding what to cook, spend less time planning, and more time enjoying the season.

Subscribe now