How to Cook Well in Morocco airs Wednesdays at 8:30pm on RTÉ One.
Ingredients
Serves 2-4
- 8 sardines
- 2 tablespoons coriander leaf chopped
- 2 tablespoons flat parsley leaves chopped
- 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled
- 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
- ½ teaspoon chilli flakes
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- Sea salt
- Flour for dusting
- Olive oil for frying and brushing
- Lemon wedges to serve
Method
- Rinse the sardines in cold water. Slit open the bellies lengthways and remove innards and back bones. You may need to use a scissors to snip put the bones near the head and tail. Pat the fish dry.
- Place the coriander and parsley in a mortar or small food processer and render to a fine texture. Add the cumin seeds, garlic and a pinch of salt and continue to render or crush to a thick puree.
- Add in the paprika, chilli flakes and lemon juice and mix. Add in a little olive oil to make a slightly runny mixture. Smear the mixture all over the sardines and fold them shut to assume their original shape.
- Chill on a plate for 1 hour.
- Heat oil in deep fat fryer to 180c. dust the sardines with flour and fry until crisp and golden. You may to need to gently flip them over during the cooking.
- Drain on kitchen paper. Brush very lightly with olive oil and serve immediately with lemon wedges.
