The summer finally has arrived in UK. The summer holiday in school will begin quite shortly so we are also going to be on vacation. But before here is a lovely recipe, which is a real summer meal especially if You are somewhere near the sea. But it’s not a fast food! So if You want to save some time on doing it, ask your fishmonger to remove the head of the fish, take out most of the backbone and leave just  an inch at the tail end: so it will be butterflied. And if all of it is ready You just mix the filling, fill the fish and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes.

Ingredients:

Serves 6-8

8 fresh sardines

For the filling:
2 tbsp breadcrumbs
2 garlic cloves
2 tbsp green olives
1/2 tin anchovies
small bunch of fresh flat leaf parsley
1 lemon zest (unwaxed)
half lemon juice
2 tbsp pine nuts (toasted)

some olive oil

a bucket of samphire 

1. Clean the fishes carefully. Remove gut (if there is), all the bones, wash and wrap into kitchen towel to get dry. 
2. For the filling take a clean, dry frying pan. Put the breadcrumbs in and heat on medium. Stir frequently and add the mashed garlic. Remove from the hob before gets browned then set aside.
3. Preheat oven to 180 C.
4. Chop the olives, anchovies, parsley and pine nuts roughly. Add to the bredacrumbs. Add the lemon zest and lemon juice as well. Mix well.
5. Lightly grease a small baking tin. Take a fish, lay on a board in front of you with skin down and spoon a little bit of filling mixture in the middle. Roll the fish and  ensure that you leave the tails sticking up in the air. If You need to fix the rolls stick a skewer in. 
6. Line up the filled sardines in a row and drizzle the top with the remaining filling. Sprinkle with some olive oil and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes.
7. Serve warm with some drizzle of fresh lemon juice and fried samphire.