Baked Sardines

Ingredients

• 20 g pine nuts (1 tbsp)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 30 g breadcrumbs (2 tbsp)
• Salt
• black pepper
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 400 g sardines (ready‑to‑cook, headless, 8 pieces)
• 1 bulb fennel
• 0.5 lemon

Instructions

1. 1.

   Roast pine nuts in a dry pan until golden brown.

2. 2.

   Add pine nuts and 1½ tbsp oil to a bowl and blend with an immersion blender to a medium‑fine paste.

3. 3.

   Stir in breadcrumbs and season the mixture with salt and pepper.

4. 4.

   Wash thyme, shake off excess moisture, pluck leaves, finely chop, and mix into the breadcrumb paste.

5. 5.

   Rinse sardines under cold water, removing any remaining scales. Pat dry. Gently separate each sardine’s belly opening, grasp the back ribs near the head with thumb and forefinger, lift them upward, and remove. Just before the tail, cut the rib with scissors.

6. 6.

   Wash and trim fennel; set aside the fronds and discard the core. Slice fennel into very thin ribbons using a mandoline.

7. 7.

   In a bowl combine fennel with salt, pepper, and 1 tbsp olive oil. Squeeze juice from half a lemon (1–2 tbsp) and add to the fennel. Finely chop fennel fronds and mix in.

8. 8.

   Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and brush it with remaining olive oil.

9. 9.

   Place sardines skin side down on the sheet. Top each sardine with about 1 tbsp of the breadcrumb mixture and press gently. Bake under a preheated grill on the second rack from the bottom for 4–5 minutes until golden brown. Serve sardines with fennel salad.