Soused Fresh Sardine Salad Recipe

Instructions

• 1

  Preheat the grill
  
  First of all you have to pre-heat your grill by setting it at high temperature.
• 2

  Make the marinade
  
  Now, prepare the marinade. Take a bowl and add in the finely grated zest of 1 large lemon and 4 tablespoons of lemon juice. Pour in 1 tablespoon of garlic-flavored olive oil and stir the ingredients with a spoon until nicely incorporated. Stir in one finely chopped fresh red or green chili, one finely chopped shallot, 6 lightly cracked black peppercorns and one fresh bay leaf. Set the marinate bowl aside for now.
• 3

  Line the grill rack
  
  Now, gently line the grill rack with foil and then lightly brush it with the recently prepared marinade.
• 4

  Prepare the sardines for grilling
  
  Arrange the 8 fresh sardines in order and remove their scales and heads with a sharp knife. Cut one large lemon into eight wedges and tuck 2 slices in each of the sardine cavity.
• 5

  Grill the sardines
  
  Shift the sardines to the lines grill rack and brush them with more marinade. Now, grill the sardines for around 2 minutes or until properly roasted. Turn the sardines with care and lightly brush them with marinade. Grill for 2 to 3 more minutes or until the outer skin of the sardines are crispy.
• 6

  Remove the grilled sardines from grill
  
  Wear gloves and remove the roasted sardines from grill and carefully transfer them to a baking dish, arranging them in one line.
• 7

  Pour in the marinade
  
  Gently drizzle the remaining marinade over the grilled sardines in the baking dish and toss them until thoroughly coated, rolling from all directions. Set the baking dish aside to cool. Once the sardines are cool, cover the dish with plastic wrapping sheet and chill in your refrigerator for 25 to 30 minutes.
• 8

  Prepare the couscous mixture
  
  For the meantime, pick a bowl and place the 250 g of couscous in it. Add in the 1½ teaspoons of finely chopped coriander and same quantity of butter. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of turmeric all over the mixture. Season with pinch of  cayenne pepper, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Whisk all these ingredients with a large spoon or fork until the butter melts and incorporate well. Now, carefully pour 600 ml of boiling into the bowl and stir until the ingredients mix well and form a thick and smooth mixture. Leave this couscous mixture for some time in order to cool properly.
• 9

  Remove sardines from refrigerator
  
  Remove the grilled sardines’ mixture from your refrigerator and set aside at room temperature until you give finishing touch to your salad.
  
  Note: It is better to remove the sardines about 10 to 15 minutes prior to serving the salad.
• 10

  Add the remaining ingredients to the couscous mixture
  
  Grab the bowl of couscous mixture and add in 1 can of rinsed and drained chickpeas, finely chopped spring onions, and the slices of 2 large finely diced peppers. Top the mixture with 1 nicely grated large courgette and muddle up all the ingredients until mix properly.
  
  Note: Try to use one red and one yellow pepper in order to give a colorful touch to your salad.
• 11

  Arrange the herbs on the serving plates
  
  Take four serving plates and equally divide the baby spinach leaves among them, arranging them in a nice order.
• 12

  Add in the couscous
  
  Now, add the couscous to the center of the plates with spinach leaves.
• 13

  Arrange the sardines
  
  Take out the grilled sardines from the marinade and place two of them on each salad plate.
• 14

  Garnish the Soused Fresh Sardine Salads
  
  Your Soused Fresh Sardine Salads are almost ready and it is the time to give them great finishing touch by garnishing them with the fresh flat-leaf parsley. Simply chop the parsley with sharp knife and sprinkle them all over the salads.
• 15

  Serve the salads
  
  Arrange the four Soused Fresh Sardine Salads in a large serving tray and dish up with four medium forks and spoons. Enjoy!