I’ve decided no Sweet’s for Fiesta Friday but instead, a simple recipe with fresh sardines! A Sardines are beautiful little fish, inexpensive and delicious grilled, marinated or like today as spicy croquettes. Thank you Angie from The Novice Gardener and thanks to Caroline @Caroline’s Cooking and Elaine @foodbod for co-hosting this week Fiesta Friday !
Serves: 12 pieces
Ingredients:
- 1 kg of fresh sardines
- A pinch of salt
- A pinch of black pepper
- 1 teaspoon of red sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon of harissa paste or 2 red chilli peppers
- 6 cloves of garlic
- 1 small bouquet of fresh coriander (this one is from my garden)
- 1 lemon
- Oil for frying
Procedure:
- Wash the sardines.
- Rub the sardines to remove the scales.
- Cut off the head.
- Cut along the belly to remove the entrails.
- Rinse the sardines and put them into a colander (the technique is simple and fast).
- In a food processor add the sardines, the salt, the black pepper, the garlic, the paste harissa, the red sweet paprika and the coriander.
- Mix all the ingredients together, do not mix a long time just to assemble the ingredients (as seen in the picture).
- In a large pan add a little of the oil on a medium heat.
- Take a little of the sardines dough and make small croquettes.
- When the oil is hot add the croquettes and fry them.
- When they are gold, transfer them to a colander.
- Serve hot and drizzle with lemon juice.
The croquettes are tender, spicy and flavorful. You can add aïoli on the side for a delicious sauce (you can find my aioli recipe here). Bon Appétit.
Petite Panière 
Looks great…Reminds me of my grand mother as she made something similar with shrimp:)
Thank you Shy 🙂 Grandma’s recipes are always tasty!
Super, I never had sardines likes this – perfect for a balmy summer evening (or to shorten the wait for one to come). Nicole
The croquettes are very nice, Nicole 🙂 One day, if you like to try the recipe, fresh sardines are the best! xx
awesome dish
Thank you Dhanya 🙂
I love sardines and this just sounds so fresh and lovely!
Thank you so much, Abida 🙂
I don’t do fish very well as you know.. These look great though!!!
Thank you, Mr Fitz 🙂
A very nice recipe dear. But I am wondering how the dough held together with out any binding factor like egg or cornflour.
Thank you very much,skd 🙂 In this recipe the dough is not mixed very much as a purée, (you can see it in the picture). The texture is malleable but If you have trouble to make croquettes you can just rub your hands with flour 😉
Great little dish, Linda. Love sardines especially fresh ones – thanks so much for another lovely recipe!
Thank you so much, Selma and I’m glad you like fresh sardines in this recipe 🙂
Cette recette a l’air incroyablement simple et délicieuse Linda. Je n’achète que rarement des sardines, mais là, ça donne vraiment envie, avec toutes ces saveurs et épices. Je vais marquer la page et je verrai s’il y a de bonnes sardines au marché samedi prochain.
J’ai un petit poil dans la main, j’aime les recettes simples Darya 🙂 Si tu as la chance de trouver des petites sardines pêchées en Mediterranée ça serait encore mieux. Dans la famille on mange les sardines grillées avec leurs arêtes, un régal. Bonne journée!
Wonderful recipe, as usual! I want these for lunch now 🙂
Thank you so much Karinna for your nice comment 🙂
Wow! My mother would LOVE these!! The crunchy coating looks great. Thank you for bringing them to Fiesta Friday and joining the party x x x
Thank you Elaine 🙂 I’m glad to hear that your mother love sardines. They are so simple and easy to prepare. I love to squeeze a lot of lemon on the top, yummy. Thank you for co-hosting this week FF xx
Looks deleicious Linda
Thank you so much, Vidya 🙂
I’ve had something like this with shrimp before and loved it! I imagine the fresh sardines are a lovely addition. The aoili dipping sauce sounds like a nice addition! Thanks for sharing your recipe, Linda. 🙂
I would love to try the shrimp version, Nancy 🙂 I agree with you aïoli makes a delicious dip. Sometimes aïoli and potatoes and you have a simple meal in front of you 😉
Oooh Linda, I’ve only ever tasted tinned sardines (when I was growing up, we would have them on toast), but this recipe makes me very keen to give fresh ones a try… I’m sure there’s no comparison!
Margot they are simple and quick to prepare. A small fish but so tasty even grilled with a little of olive oil and lemon. A simple feast. Have a wonderful day 🙂
Lovely way to cook sardines – I have been having loads of them recently – such an omega 3 powerhouse!
Thank you so much 🙂 Sometimes, we eat grilled sardines with their bones. This is the only fish that you can eat the bones without any risk. The bones of the sardines are rich in calcium. A delicious little fish 😉
Yes the bones can have a funny texture but agree they’re good for you!
You have the special gift of making attractive even the food that usually I don’t like! So much talented you are Linda!
Margherita, thank a bunch for your lovely words 🙂 Passe une belle journée xx
les croquettes de sardines je n’ai rien a dire mmmmmmm 🙂