Die Zubereitung

• Clean your sardine fillets, then put them aside in a dish.
• Sprinkle with olive oil and lemon juice.
• Add the finely chopped garlic and sliced onion.
• Sprinkle with rosemary, thyme and some red peppercorn, salt.
• Cover your dish with cling film then put your fish into the refrigerator for at least 3 hours. (If you have the time, let marinate longer, ideally one day before).
• You have several possibilities for cooking sardines. If you choose the barbecue grill, your embers should be really hot for a quick cooking time, about 4 minutes on each side. Using the plancha or a frying-pan are great alternatives which work well, always cooking the sardines quickly on both sides.

Tricks

Some advice before getting started.

Count between 4 to 5 sardines per person.
Choose ones which are shiny, straight with bulging eyes and a distinct contrast between the white belly and dark back.
Little sardines don’t need to be gutted but the larger ones would be better off scaled and gutted. Sardines can also be found already-gutted and ready to eat.