recipes

crispy sardines with lemon and mint

• 1kg sardines, cleaned and heads removed
• ¼ cup finely grated lemon rind
• ¼ cup (60ml) olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tablespoon chopped mint leaves
• sea salt and cracked black pepper
• 1 cup (150g) plain (all-purpose) flour
• olive oil, extra, for shallow frying
• lemon wedges, to serve

Place the sardines, lemon rind, olive oil, garlic, mint, salt and pepper in a bowl and toss to coat. Set sardines aside to marinate for 30 minutes. Dust the sardines in the flour. Heat a large non-stick frying pan over high heat, add 1 cm of the extra oil and cook the sardines, in batches, for 1 minute each side or until golden and crispy. Serve with the lemon wedges. Serves 4.