A sardine recipe with many virtues: easy, quick, savory and healthy. The vinaigrette dressing uses 4 common Mediterranean herbs, but fennel gives the main tone.

Use medium to small size sardines for best results. Fresh and small pieces don't have many scales, and they are easy to remove. Rub each one of them with your hand, wearing gloves if you wish, from the tail end towards the head. Don't remove the head, as this is a whole fish recipe.

Sardine recipe with fennel vinaigrette

Mediterranean sardines health highlights

Mediterranean sardines are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. It is generally accepted that omega-3 fatty acids are heart-friendly. Mediterranean and Asian peoples' that eat fish regularly have a lower rate of heart-related diseases. Sardines are a superior source of calcium too.

Ingredients for this sardine recipe

• 8 medium-size whole fresh sardines
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

For the vinaigrette recipe

• 1 handful fresh fennel leaves
• 1-leveled teaspoon fresh oregano leaves
• 1 leaf sage
• 1-leveled teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves
• 1/2-cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 pinch salt

Basic cookware for these Mediterranean sardines

• A skillet
• Mortar and pestle, or spice grinder, or food processor
• A spatula

How to prepare this sardine recipe

Serves 2. Scaling this recipe to 1, 4, 6 or more diners is very easy.

1. First, clean the sardines: Put some kitchen gloves on, if you wish. Make a slit along the gut with a pointed knife. Open the gut cavity and pull out the intestines with your fingers.
2. Rinse the sardines under running cold water. Pat them dry with paper towels.
3. Dredge each sardine in flour.
4. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet, and fry the sardines over medium heat. If the heat is too low, it takes to long to cook them, and this sardine recipe will be dry and unappetizing. If the heat is too high Mediterranean sardines burn easily. The olive oil should be very hot before placing the sardines in the skillet, or they will stick to the bottom.
5. Mediterranean sardines should be cooked after 7 to 10 minutes on each side, depending on their size.
6. Start the vinaigrette while the sardines are cooking in the skillet. Put the herbs in a mortar and crush and pound them with a pestle. For this sardine recipe, a spice grinder or food processor can give acceptable results too. Pour the 1/2-cup extra virgin olive oil and mix very well with the pestle. When you have obtained a homogeneous sauce, add the lemon juice, and mix well again. Add a pinch of salt and mix. The vinaigrette dressing is ready. If you have a nice ceramic mortar, you can serve the vinaigrette in it.
7. As soon as the sardines are done, serve them hot together with the vinaigrette.

Herbs for the vinaigrette	Dredged sardines for frying

Fresh sardines are a traditional Mediterranean food

There are many Catalan proverbs about the best time for eating sardines. Unfortunately, they are inconsistent. Probably the idea was to point out that it wasn't healthy to eat sardines every single day, which many people did in the past.

From personal experience, I totally agree with great food writer Josep Pla, who says that the best time for fresh Mediterranean sardines goes from the middle of April to the end of May.

Those weeks the Mediterranean Sea abounds with schools of juicy sardines that will provide for a delicious sardine recipe. Hence the proverb: "During May even women fish sardines." I admit it is a little bit on the side of male chauvinism!

More tasty Catalan Mediterranean recipes

• Click here to discover more appealing Mediterranean food recipes like this sardine recipe.

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