Grilled Cornish Sardines on Toast

Ingredients: Serves 4

8 Large Cornish Sardine Fillets
4 Slices of Grilled Rye bread
20g Onions
200g Butter
8g Pearl Onions
20g Vine Tomatoes
20g Red Peppers
100g Tinned Anchovy Fillets
60g Unsalted Butter
20g Pea Shoots dressed with Lemon Juice, Olive Oil and Fleur de Sel
Pinch of Thyme
8 Sprigs of Dill
40g Chicken Stock
Cracked Black Pepper
Sugar
Olive Oil
Lemon Juice
Fleur de Sel

To prepare the garnish

• Roast the Red Pepper in the oven at 180º for 15 minutes or until blistered. Allow to cool, then peel and slice.
• Slice the onions and melt in 200g of butter over a very low heat. The onion is ready when it is very soft without any caramelizing. Add a little thyme to the melted onion to enhance the flavour.
• Cut the vine tomatoes in half then sprinkle with sugar and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil then oven bake at 100 ºC for 30 minutes, leave to dry out in a warm place for about 3 hours (above a hot oven is ideal) until they become semi sun dried tomatoes. Alternatively, you could use soft sun dried tomatoes.
• Peel the pearl onions then caramelize in a little olive oil. Deglaze pan with sherry vinegar. Add chicken stock to cover onions then cook until chicken stock has reduced into onions and they are soft.

To prepare the anchovy sauce
Melt the anchovies in the butter, once the anchovies have dissolved into a paste pass through a sieve.

To assemble the dish

• Grill the sardines, making sure they do not become over cooked.
• Finish with lemon juice and fleur de sel.
• Grill the 4 slices of rye bread and then drizzle with half the anchovy sauce.
• Spread the melted onions and red peppers on the toast.
• Place the sardines on the onions and peppers and drizzle the remaining anchovy sauce over the sardines.
• Place baked tomato, pearl onions and dill onto the sardines, and then add the pea shoots.

Finish with more lemon juice and fleur de sel.

Serve immediately

Compare your Dish:- Once you’ve tried this recipe why not sample the original version at The Royal Oak!

This Month's Wine Recommendation from Michael Trenga

The Royal Oak,
Sauvignon Blanc, Chile 2008
 
The wine shows a bright yellow-green colour. The nose is elegant, with dominant notes of flowers exquisitely mixed with herbal tones. In the mouth, the wine is crisp, fresh, round, well-balanced with a long finish.

The Royal Oak,
Grenache/Merlot, Ardeche, France 2008
 
Bright colour with red fruit flavours, beautifully assembled, the Merlot and the Grenache are impeccably balanced.  A sweet nose of bright red cherries opens to a plush, soft, round mouth of black fruits.