Grilled Spiced Sardines with Couscous

Serves 4
Time 35 min
Grilled Spiced Sardines with Couscous

Never cooked fresh sardines before? This easy, super-tasty recipe featuring aromatic spices is a great introduction. We love it as a main dish, but you could also serve it as a starter for 6 people. Ask your fishmonger to prepare the sardines for you.

Special Diets:

Dairy FreeDairy Free
Sugar ConsciousSugar Conscious

Ingredients

    12sardines, cleaned, scaled and heads removed
    1/4 cupextra-virgin olive oil
    2 clovesgarlic, finely chopped
    1 3/4 teaspoonsground coriander
    1 teaspoonground cinnamon
    1/2 teaspoonground black pepper
    Zest and juice of 1 lemon, divided
    3/4 teaspoonfine sea salt, divided
    1cinnamon stick
    1 cupwhole wheat couscous
    3 tablespoonschopped fresh cilantro
    3 tablespoonschopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

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Method

Quickly rinse sardines and pat dry.


Using your fingers, grasp the top of a sardine’s backbone and pull down firmly but gently to remove it. (Don’t worry if flesh gets a little ragged; this will help sardines absorb the marinade.)


Repeat with remaining sardines.


Using a sharp knife, cut a few slits in both sides of each sardine.


In a large bowl, combine oil, garlic, coriander, ground cinnamon, pepper, lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt.


Add sardines and toss gently to coat them all over. Cover and refrigerate while you heat the grill and make couscous.


Prepare a grill for medium heat cooking or preheat the broiler.


In a small saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups water, cinnamon stick and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt.


Bring to a boil over high heat.


Stir in couscous and lemon zest.


Remove from the heat, cover the pan and let sit for 10 minutes.


Remove sardines from marinade and discard excess marinade.


If grilling, remove as much marinade as possible from fish (it will cause flare-ups) and place them on the grill; use a grill basket if you have one. If broiling, place fish on a baking sheet and broil 6 inches from the heat source.


Cook sardines, flipping once, until well browned and cooked through, about 3 minutes per side.


Fluff couscous with a fork and discard cinnamon stick.


Mound couscous on a platter and surround with sardines.


Sprinkle sardines with cilantro and parsley and serve.

Nutritional Info

Serving Size

Calories

350

Total Fat

13g

Saturated Fat

2.5g

Cholesterol

50mg

Sodium

760mg

Total Carbohydrate

37g

Dietary Fiber

6g

Total Sugars

1g

Protein

23g

Note: We've provided special diet and nutritional information for educational purposes. But remember - we're cooks, not doctors! You should follow the advice of your health-care provider. And since product formulations change, check product labels for the most recent ingredient information. See our Terms of Service.