Ingredients
| FOR THE SALMORIGLIO | |
| 1 cup spinach leaves (not strictly traditional, so you could use Italian flat-leaved parsley leaves instead) | |
| 1 cup fresh oregano leaves | |
| 1 clove garlic | |
| 2 tablespoons lemon juice | |
| zest of 1 lemon | |
| 1 cup olive oil | |
| FOR THE SARDINES | |
| 100g white breadcrumbs | |
| 100g parmesan, grated | |
| 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves | |
| zest of 1 lemon | |
| 1 cup plain flour | |
| 3 eggs, beaten | |
| 8-12 sardines, depending on the size, butterflied | |
| cooking oil, for frying | |
| sourdough toast and lemon wedges, to serve |
Pronounced ‘sal-more-eel-ee-yo’, this sauce is fabulous with grilled fish (and crispy, roasted Jerusalem artichokes). Some recipe variations make a broken sauce, like a vinaigrette, but I prefer this method, that emulsifies the sauce into something with more mouthfeel. Butterflying the sardines makes them easier to handle and eat.
Instructions
| 1. | SALMORIGLIO |
| 2. | Bring a pot of salted water to the boil, add the spinach leaves and cook for 30 seconds. |
| 3. | Drain the spinach and refresh in cold water. Squeeze the spinach dry and put in a blender. |
| 4. | Add the oregano, garlic, lemon juice and zest and 2 tablespoons water. |
| 5. | Blitz and gradually pour in the olive oil until smooth and emulsified. |
| 6. | Season with salt and pepper, or chilli flakes. |
| 7. | SARDINES |
| 8. | Mix the breadcrumbs with the parmesan, oregano and lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper. |
| 9. | Put the mixture into a shallow dish. |
| 10. | Put the flour into another dish and have the beaten eggs in a wide bowl. |
| 11. | Dust each sardine in flour, shaking off any excess, then dip into the egg and then into the breadcrumb mixture, patting the coating gently onto the sardine. |
| 12. | Cover the base of a large frying pan with a generous layer of cooking oil, a good 2-3cm deep. |
| 13. | Put over a medium heat and fry the sardines until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. |
| 14. | Do this in batches, draining each batch on absorbent kitchen paper. |
| 15. | Serve on toast, with the salmoriglio and a wedge of lemon. |
Food and recipe styling Martin Bosley / Photography Amber-Jayne Bain