Fresh sardines baked on a thick tomato and chickpea sauce, warmed with sweet paprika and cumin, then finished with lemon and parsley — a simple, hearty Mediterranean dinner.
Serves 2
Nutrition (per serving, estimated)
- Energy: 537 kcal
- Protein: 41 g
- Fat: 24 g
- Carbohydrate: 30 g
- Fibre: 12 g
Estimated values.
Ingredients
- 300 g fresh sardines, cleaned, heads removed and butterflied (fresh anchovies or horse mackerel can be used instead)
- 1 can (400 g) chopped tomatoes
- 200 g cooked chickpeas, drained
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200 °C (fan 180 °C).
- Heat the olive oil in a pan over a medium heat and cook the onion for 5 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Stir in the paprika and cumin, then add the chopped tomatoes, chickpeas, salt and black pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes until slightly thickened.
- Pour the sauce into a baking dish and lay the sardines on top, skin side up.
- Bake for 15–18 minutes, until the sardines are cooked through and the flesh is opaque and flakes easily.
- Squeeze over the lemon juice, sprinkle with parsley and serve warm.