We went to Whitstable for the carnival last month, ate chips on the sea wall, then watched the floats go by. As the fish market was closing, I bought a big bag of sardines for a couple of quid. In her Fish Cookery, Jane Grigson gives a Sardinian recipe, Sarde a Beccafico, for stuffing filleted sardines (from which I have omitted the sugar).
You will need:
5 heaped tbsp of white breadcrumbs
90g sultanas
90g pine kernels
1tsp sugar
6 salted anchovies
Salt and pepper
Chopped parsley
Bay leaves
Juice of 1 lemon
A small onion, finely chopped
Two dried chillies are a good addition
METHOD: To fillet sardines, cut off the heads. Slit the bellies with a sharp knife and scrape out the guts, then gently pull out the backbone from the head end.
Saut? the crumbs in olive oil until they are lightly browned, then put into a bowl. Brown the pine kernels, then add them, the sultanas, chillies and sugar (if using) to the breadcrumbs. Wash and dry the anchovies, pound them and add to the bowl with the parsley and onion. Season with black pepper and mix the ingredients with your hands.
Put some stuffing into the cavity of each fish and close the sides over it. Rub a baking dish with olive oil and arrange the sardines in a single layer in it. Tear the bay leaves into pieces and sprinkle on top, together with any stuffing that remains. Bake in a moderate oven (180C/gas mark 4) for 30 minutes, until the breadcrumbs are brown and the sardines cooked. Squeeze lemon or orange juice over it and serve immediately.