Name: Baked sardines with zhoug
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4 - 6
Ingredients: 1 lemon, juiced.; 2 tsp sweet paprika; 60 ml (¼ cup) extra-virgin olive oil; 16 large sardines, cleaned; Lemon cheeks and dried chilli threads, to serve; ZHOUG; 4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped; 2 cups (firmly packed) coriander leaves; 3 jalapeños coarsely chopped; 1 tsp sea salt flakes; 1 tsp ground cardamom; ½ tsp each ground cumin, coriander and chilli flakes; 2 tbsp lemon juice and zest; 180 ml (¾ cup) extra-virgin olive oil

Baked sardines with zhoug

Choose any fish you'd like because this zesty zhoug will complement them all.

Serves 4 - 6

Prep

15M

Cook

10M

Total

25M

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Zhoug, pronounced “zoog”, is a spicy Yemeni coriander sauce with a healthy kick of heat from jalapeño chillies. In this recipe, we serve it drizzled generously over fresh baked sardines, but zhoug is the perfect zesty sauce to elevate any meal in need of a little extra spice.

Ingredients

1 lemon, juiced.

2 tsp sweet paprika

60 ml (¼ cup) extra-virgin olive oil

16 large sardines, cleaned

Lemon cheeks and dried chilli threads, to serve

ZHOUG

4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

2 cups (firmly packed) coriander leaves

3 jalapeños coarsely chopped

1 tsp sea salt flakes

1 tsp ground cardamom

½ tsp each ground cumin, coriander and chilli flakes

2 tbsp lemon juice and zest

180 ml (¾ cup) extra-virgin olive oil

Method

1.For dressing, place lemon juice, paprika and 1 tbsp olive oil in a medium bowl. Season to taste and whisk to combine. Add sardines and toss gently to coat; marinate for 15 minutes.

2.Meanwhile, for zhoug, place ingredients, except oil, in a food processor and process until finely chopped. With motor running, gradually add oil until combined; season to taste and set aside.

3.Reserve 80ml zhoug mixture. Open sardines and spoon 1-2 tsp zhoug inside each cavity. Reserve remaining zhoug.

4.Preheat a lightly greased barbecue or chargrill pan over medium-high heat. Barbecue sardines, turning occasionally, until charred and cooked (6-8 minutes); season to taste.

5.To serve, transfer sardines to a platter with lemon cheeks, drizzle with reserved zhoug and scatter with chilli threads.

Recipe by Tamika O'Neill

Styling by Olivia Blackmore