“This simple combination of saffron, almond and sardines is wonderful, says Josh Niland: “the saffron vinegar brings an elegant floral sweetness that perfectly complements the savoury minerality of the grilled fish. It is important that the whole sardines are rested for a couple of minutes after grilling to ensure the flesh comes away from the bone nicely.”
Serves 4 as a starter or 2 as a main
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
- 8 sardines, gutted, head and tail on
- 80ml grapeseed oil
- sea salt flakes and freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 tbsp almond oil
- garum or fish sauce, to taste
- slivered almonds, to garnish (optional)To make the saffron vinegar:
- small pinch of saffron threads
- 1 litre of chardonnay vinegar
Method
- To make the saffron vinegar, add the saffron to the vinegar in a sterile mason jar or clean airtight container. Stir to combine and store at room temp for 24 hours minimum. The longer you can leave this to develop flavour the better – it can be made in advance and will keep in the pantry, gradually becoming more flavourful. Use it in salad dressings.
- Either preheat a chargrill pan over a high heat or a charcoal grill with evenly burnt-down embers. Thread the sardines onto metal or soaked bamboo skewers. Brush with the grapeseed oil and season with salt flakes.
- Grill for around a minute on each side, or until evenly coloured and the flesh is warm to the touch.
- Tip the grill rack to free the fish onto a clean surface, or use an offset spatula. While you want the skin to be well coloured, it is critical that the sardines are still a little underdone. The saffron vinegar will finish off the “cooking” process. Leave the fish to rest for 2 mins.
- Brush with almond oil and season with a little salt and a touch of pepper, then place in the centre of a plate. Dress with a spoonful of the saffron vinegar, garum or fish sauce to taste, and a few drops of almond oil. Top with slivered almonds, if you like.To make the garum:
- calculate the total weight of heads, bones and scraps you have from small fish such as sardines, mackerel, sardines or gurnard (removing the gall bladder).
- Measure 50% of that weight in water and add to the trimmings.
- Calculate 20% of the combined weight and add this quantity of fine salt.
- Mix, transfer to a mason jar, seal and place in a circulator bath set to 40°C. Stir once a day for 7 days.
- Store in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to a month.
- Alternatively, garum is available from online food specialists.
Taken from Take One Fish: The New School of Scale-to-Tail Cooking and Eating by Josh Niland, published by Hardie Grant at £26. To buy from The Week Bookshop for £20.99, call 020-3176 3835 or visit theweekbookshop.co.uk.
-
Democrats push for ICE accountabilityFeature U.S. citizens shot and violently detained by immigration agents testify at Capitol Hill hearing
-
The price of sporting gloryFeature The Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics kicked off this week. Will Italy regret playing host?
-
Fulton County: A dress rehearsal for election theft?Feature Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is Trump's de facto ‘voter fraud’ czar
-
6 gorgeous homes in warm climesFeature Featuring a Spanish Revival in Tucson and Richard Neutra-designed modernist home in Los Angeles
-
Touring the vineyards of southern BoliviaThe Week Recommends Strongly reminiscent of Andalusia, these vineyards cut deep into the country’s southwest
-
Nan Goldin: The Ballad of Sexual Dependency – an ‘engrossing’ exhibitionThe Week Recommends All 126 images from the American photographer’s ‘influential’ photobook have come to the UK for the first time
-
American Psycho: a ‘hypnotic’ adaptation of the Bret Easton Ellis classicThe Week Recommends Rupert Goold’s musical has ‘demonic razzle dazzle’ in spades
-
Properties of the week: houses near spectacular coastal walksThe Week Recommends Featuring homes in Cornwall, Devon and Northumberland
-
Melania: an ‘ice-cold’ documentaryTalking Point The film has played to largely empty cinemas, but it does have one fan
-
Nouvelle Vague: ‘a film of great passion’The Week Recommends Richard Linklater’s homage to the French New Wave
-
Wonder Man: a ‘rare morsel of actual substance’ in the Marvel UniverseThe Week Recommends A Marvel series that hasn’t much to do with superheroes
