I now realise I made 2 (two) posts last year. And 1500 odd people took the time to visit this site. It is both unappreciative of readers and wholly unrepresentative of how much good cooking went down last year. So here’s to a “dozens” of posts 2012. Beginning with some fish I cooked. Last year. x
Stuffed sardines.
Lovely Cornish sardines, filled with Isreali couscous.
12 x whole fresh sardines, cleaned.
100g dried Isreali couscous
2 x cup vegetable stock
1 x red onion
1 x clove garlic
7-8 x oyster mushrooms
1 x zucchini
¼ x cup chopped flat parsley
3 x pinch fresh majoram leaves.
1 x skinny Turkish red pepper
Bay leaf
Sweet paprika
Smoked paprika
Cumin seeds
Olive oil
Whole lemon
Salt + Cracked black pepper
Tip for Camden locals – the Sainsbury’s there has one of the freshest fish counters I’ve seen in London (I know, shoot me.)
Cook the couscous in the vegetable stock, adding in the peel of the lemon (reserve the rest for juice) and bay leaf. Any parsley stalks excess can go in also. Follow the cooking instructions on the couscous packet, but you’re going to boil it then let it sit covered for a while. This big-assed Isreali couscous needs a lot more cooking than the instant one….
Finely dice the veggies, then frying in olive oil, onion, garlic, paprika, cumin seeds, pepper, zucchini, mushroom. Cool.
A quick note on using paprika. The sweet stuff isn’t so powerful, so I could recommended half a teaspoon for this recipe. The smokey stuff you just need a tiny pinch. I unfortunately went into overkill mode and ruined it a little. Exercise caution!
Remove detritus from cooled couscous, mix the vege through and add the chopped flat parsley, majoram and the juice of the lemon. Salt and pepper to taste.
Now the sardines. Gently pull the head backwards, don’t be rough – if you’re careful the head, spine and all associated bones should be removed in one piece. Gently clean these lovely fillets without washing in water. I prefer to leave the tails on.
Form the couscous mix into a fillet shape and wrap a sardine over the top, skin side out. A slice of thin butter on top and you’re good to go. Place all on a oven tray lined with silicone paper and pop under a hot, overhead grill. These should be cooked through in a couple of minutes.
This meal tastes amazing and is cheap! Sardines are really good value and everything else can be found at your local store for a good price.
