Spiced sardine fillets with Red and White Quinoa
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Serves 2
Vegetarian: No
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or oil from the peppers
• 4 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon ras-el-hanout, plus a little for seasoning the sardines
• Grated zest and juice (4 tablespoons) of 1 medium lemon
• 2 teaspoons grated ginger
• 14 SunBlush pepper slices
• 250g Red and White Quinoa
• 2 tablespoons de-shelled pistachio nuts (optional)
• 10 ready to eat dried apricots, cut into small cubes
• The seeds from half a small pomegranate
• 8 sardine filets, approximately 100g total
• 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 12 large leaves of mint, sliced
• Salt, cayenne pepper and caster sugar
- Put half the oil, the water, honey, ras-el-hanout, half the lemon juice, the chilli and half the ginger in a saucepan. Bring to the boil. Boil for 2-3 minutes until the liquid has reduced by half and has become sticky and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Add the peppers, bring back to the boil, turn off the heat. Taste, season with salt.
- Next, warm the quinoa in the microwave. Tip it into a bowl and mix with the remaining oil and ginger. Stir and break up the grains with a fork.
- Add the lemon zest and remaining juice, the pistachio nuts, dried apricots and half of the mint, season with salt and a touch of cayenne pepper.
- Add the pomegranate seeds and the remaining mint to the pepper mixture. Season with salt, cayenne pepper and a touch of sugar to bring out the sweetness of the peppers.
- Get a baking tray. Line it with non-stick paper. Put the sardine filets on top. Season the fish with salt on both sides with salt and ras-el-hanout. Grill for 3 minutes until the skin crisps up. Keep an eye on the sardines because grills vary enormously and it may be slightly quicker or longer.
- Once the sardine fillets are grilled, serve with the quinoa and the pepper dressing.
- Enjoy!