A snack to share with friends or a light and tasty meal, transport yourself to the Mediterranean with this simple recipe.

Recipe and Styling Natalia Homan | Photograph Brendan Homan

Grilled sardines with “pan con tomate”
serves 2

6 whole sardines, gutted, cleaned & heads removed
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil + extra for drizzling
sea salt & cracked black pepper
2 ripe tomatoes
6 sourdough bread slices
1 clove garlic
½ cup parsley leaves

Heat a barbecue or grill plate to high. Pat the sardines dry with paper towel, coat with a tbsp of olive oil and season with salt & pepper. Cut the tomatoes in half and grate, on the coarse side of a box grater, into a small bowl, discarding the skins. Add remaining olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Place the sardines onto the grill and cook for about 2 minutes on each side. Toast the bread on the grill. Rub one side of each slice of toasted bread with the garlic clove. Top the bread with the tomato mix and place a sardine on top.

Serve drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with parsley leaves.

This recipe first appeared in the January 2022 issue of SALIFE magazine.