Marcus Samuelsson's Recipe for Sardines with Herbs

Photo: Paul Brissman

From Yahoo Food’s Cookbook of the Week: Marcus Off Duty (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

Monterey Sardines with Burnt Lemons & Herbs
Serves 6

You don’t have to have an outdoor grill to get that special charred flavor—particularly when you’re cooking fish. You can use a grill pan or a cast iron skillet on your stove top, which is what I do here with one of my favorite fish, the meaty sardine. A little relish of green olives and red onion, the herbs, and the caramelized lemon make this dish bright and lip-smacking good.

2 lemons, scrubbed and cut into 6 wedges each
Kosher salt
3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
18 fresh sardines, gutted, scaled, and rinsed
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh parsley
2 garlic cloves, sliced
2 teaspoons finely chopped lemon zest
1/3 cup brine-cured green olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 teaspoons soy sauce
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Toss the lemons with 2 teaspoons salt and 2 teaspoons of the chopped cilantro. Set aside.

2. Put the sardines in a single layer in a 9-x-13- inch baking dish. Sprinkle the fish with salt. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, combine the remaining 3 tablespoons cilantro, the parsley, garlic, and lemon zest in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the olives and onion together.

4. Drizzle the sardines lightly with olive oil. Sprinkle half of the herb mixture over the sardines, turning to coat.

5. Heat a cast iron skillet over high until just about smoking. Add the sardines in batches, searing them for 2 minutes on one side. Flip and sear for 1 minute on the other side. Transfer the blackened sardines to a serving platter and keep warm while you cook the remaining fish, making sure the skillet is smoking hot again before adding more sardines.

6. Get the skillet hot again and add the lemon wedges. Sear until caramelized on both cut sides, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the lemons to the platter. Turn off the heat, add the butter, soy sauce, and the 1 tablespoon olive oil to the skillet and swirl the pan until the butter melts. Drizzle over the sardines.

7. Scatter the onion-olive relish and the remaining herb mixture over the sardines, season with freshly ground black pepper, and serve.

If you don’t love sardines, now you will:

Seared fresh sardines with tomato soup

Healthy breakfast: sardines on toast

Deep-fried sardines are like popcorn