One of my favourite summer memories is making collares de moras as a child in Extremadura, which involved threading wild blackberries on to a piece of straw to make little necklaces. We’d always eat some too, of course, as well as wearing them, and we’d always come home with stained hands and big smiles. At the time, I never imagined that one day I’d be cooking sardines and pairing them with those same wild berries, but that’s the magic of food. The ingredients that filled my childhood with such simple joy have become part of the dishes I love creating today. Every time I make this recipe, it takes me straight back to those carefree summer days.
Grilled sardines with blackberry escabeche
Prep 10 min
Cook 25 min
Marinate 1 hr+
Serves 4
3 tbsp olive oil
2 banana shallots, peeled and finely sliced
1 red or orange bell pepper, pith and seeds removed, flesh finely sliced
4-5 fresh thyme sprigs
2 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 small pinch chilli flakes (optional)
200ml white-wine vinegar, or cider vinegar
200ml white wine
150g blackberries, washed
Sea salt and black pepper
8 good-sized fresh sardines, butterflied (ask the fishmonger to do this for you, if need be)
Heat a tablespoon of the oil, then gently fry the shallots and bell pepper for six or seven minutes, until lovely and tender. Add the thyme and spices, fry for a minute more, then add the vinegar, wine and 100ml water, bring to a simmer and cook until the liquid has reduced by about half. Stir in the blackberries, then take off the heat and leave to cool slightly.
Meanwhile, put the rest of the oil in a large nonstick frying pan on a high heat. Season the butterflied sardines inside and out, then fry them skin-side down for three or four minutes, until golden and crisp. Flip over and fry for just a minute longer on the flesh side.
Arrange the cooked sardines skin-side up and side by side in a suitable deep-sided dish, pour the warm escabeche all over the top, then leave to marinate and cool down for at least an hour. Serve at once, or cover and chill in the fridge until you’re ready to eat.
