Sardines

Round two of my fish experimentation features the humble sardine. This is an oily fish and as such is higher in points than white fish. However they do contain omega 3 oils and we are recommended to eat at least 2 portions of oily fish per week. To my dismay I have found out that tinned tuna does not count so I have to find other alternatives and sardines are easy to cook, cheap and delicious. They also do not require any additional cooking oil.

Whole sardines are approximately 3 points each dependent on weight.

Method one

My sardines were large and I have to feed two toddlers so I decided that the best method would be to fillet them to get rid of the large bones. The sardines had been gutted and the heads and tails removed by the fishmonger.

I removed the large backbone with a sharp knife and cut the remaining into two fillets. These were then sprinkled with chilli and garlic from my grinder and a squeeze of lemon juice.

These were placed in a hot griddle pan flesh side down and cooked for about a minute then turned over for the skin to crisp for another minute.

Method two

I kept the sardines whole and just scored the skins. Lemon juice was squeezed on and they were also griddled this time for 2-3 minutes on each side.

The verdict

Method one was wonderful the flesh was moist inside and crisp outside and not having to worry about bones was great my two year old loved them.

Method two was also good but not as crisp better actually for the youngest of my family as the flesh was moister. This was a lot quicker to prepare.

We ate them with ratatouille and it worked really well plus there were no additional points to consider.

These would be wonderful cooked on a barbecue in the summer and served with salad.