Grilled sardines with spring vegetables - English Cuisine

“Spring is the perfect time to cook for me, as the produce available just sings. This simple, light, dish is a great little number for your next barbecue. I was lucky enough to find lovely big sardines, but if yours are smaller then you might need two or three per person.” Luke Nguyen, Luke Nguyen's United Kingdom

Ingredients



8 small Jersey Royal potatoes or new potatoes

4 green onions, green tops removed

8 small broad bean pods, trimmed, stringed and cut diagonally into thirds

4 whole large sardines, gutted and trimmed

sea salt, for sprinkling

60 ml (¼ cup) olive oil

freshly ground black pepper

3 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 garlic clove

1 lemon

2 small spring onions, julienned and placed in iced water

lemon wedges, to serve

Cook's notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.



Instructions



Fire up a barbecue, then allow the coals to burn down to white. If using barbecue bricks, it’s important to let them burn off and smoulder down so they burn out the chemicals and don’t impart and unpleasant flavour to the food.



Meanwhile, cook the potatoes in a large saucepan of lightly salted boiling water for 8 minutes or until nearly tender. Add the green onions and cook for another 3 minutes, then add the broad beans and cook for 2 minutes. Drain well and set aside.



Make 3 small incisions along each side of the sardines. Sprinkle all over with sea salt and drizzle with a little olive oil. Cook for about 1½ minutes, then turn and baste lightly with oil again. The cooking time will vary depending on the size of the fish, so make sure you keep an eye on them as the smaller fish will cook very quickly. Season lightly with pepper, then remove from the heat.



Cut the hot potatoes in half lengthways and place on a large plate. Scatter with the green onions and broad bean, then drizzle the vegetables generously with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and season to taste. Using a microplane, finely grate the garlic and lemon zest over the top. Top with the sardines, drizzle with lemon juice, then scatter with spring onions and serve immediately with lemon wedges.