Spanish & Portuguese · Lunch · Dinner
Portuguese Grilled Sardines
Sardinhas assadas
Whole fresh sardines rubbed with coarse salt and grilled over hot charcoal until the skin blisters and crisps, served Lisbon-style with boiled potatoes, a tangy roasted pepper salad and plenty of lemon.
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 35 min
- Total
- 65 min
- Serves
- 4
Calories come from: Carbs 26% · Fat 42% · Protein 32%
Track it in BerryFit and see how it fits your own daily target. Get the app ›
Ingredients
For 4 servings- 16 medium (about 1 kg)whole fresh sardines
- 1 tsp6 gcoarse sea salt
- 600 gsmall new potatoes, scrubbed
- 8 cups2,000 gwater, for boiling potatoes
- 2 large400 gred bell peppers
- 1 small70 gonion, thinly sliced
- 1 clovegarlic, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp27 gextra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp15 gred wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup10 gfresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 1 medium85 glemon, cut into wedges
Steps
- 1
Light the charcoal and let it burn down to glowing, ash-covered coals, about 20 minutes.
- 2
Rinse the sardines under cold water and pat them dry; leave them whole and ungutted in the traditional way, or gut them if you prefer.
- 3
Scatter the coarse salt evenly over the sardines, toss to coat and leave in the fridge for 20 minutes.
- 4
Put the potatoes in a pot with the unsalted water, bring to a boil and simmer for about 20 minutes until tender, then drain.
- 5
Meanwhile, grill the whole peppers over the coals for 10-12 minutes, turning, until the skins are blackened all over.
- 6
Place the peppers in a covered bowl for 10 minutes to steam, then peel, remove the seeds and slice into strips.
- 7
Toss the pepper strips with the onion, garlic, vinegar, 1 tbsp of the olive oil and half the parsley.
- 8
Lightly oil the hot grill rack with a little of the remaining olive oil on a folded paper towel.
- 9
Grill the sardines for 3-4 minutes per side, in batches if needed, until the skin is crisp and the flesh is opaque and flakes easily from the bone (63 °C / 145 °F).
- 10
Serve the sardines with the potatoes and pepper salad, drizzled with the remaining olive oil, sprinkled with the rest of the parsley and with lemon wedges for squeezing.
Swaps, storage and make-ahead
Swaps
- Use whole fresh mackerel or small trout instead of sardines if you can't find them, grilling a few minutes longer until the flesh flakes easily.
- Swap the new potatoes for boiled sweet potatoes or a simple green salad for a lighter plate.
- Use jarred roasted red peppers, drained, instead of grilling fresh ones to save time.
- Cook the sardines and peppers on a very hot grill pan or under the broiler if you don't have a charcoal grill.
Storage
Grilled sardines are best eaten fresh off the grill; refrigerate any leftover fish and potatoes within 2 hours in airtight containers and eat within 1 to 2 days, reheating until steaming hot or enjoying the fish cold. The pepper salad keeps 3 to 4 days in the fridge, and none of this should be frozen.
Make ahead
Make the roasted pepper salad up to a day ahead and keep it covered in the fridge, and clean and dry the sardines a few hours before cooking. Salt and grill the fish just before serving.
Nutrition values are for the recipe as written.
Track this in BerryFit
Log Portuguese Grilled Sardines in one tap and see how it fits your remaining calories for today.
Or ask Coach Berry to change it
Allergens and nutrition
Contains: FishSulphites
Check the labels of packaged ingredients for allergens and suitability for your diet.
Full nutrition
| Per serving (1,054 g) | Per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 519 kcal | 49 kcal |
| Protein | 41.3 g | 3.9 g |
| Carbohydrates | 33.9 g | 3.2 g |
| of which sugars | 7.4 g | 0.7 g |
| Fiber | 5.6 g | 0.5 g |
| Fat | 24.5 g | 2.3 g |
| of which saturated | 3.4 g | 0.3 g |
| Sodium | 1,097 mg | 104 mg |
Nutrition is calculated from USDA FoodData Central data and may differ from what you cook.
