Baked Sardines

BAKED SARDINES
500g butterflied sardines, I buy mine already cleaned from the fishmonger
2 cups bread crumbs, I use a mix of fine and panko
2 lemons
2 onions
1 handful of toasted pine nuts
1 handful of currents
1 handful of parsley
Olive oil
Start by sautéing your onions, I cook mine out in a splash of olive oil and a pinch of salt slowly until they have a really nice sweet flavour and have good brown colour. Once this has happened you can take them off the heat and stir through your currents.
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Mix your bread crumbs with some olive oil. Zest your lemons and add that in, finely chop your parsley and add that in too, season with some lemon juice and salt. Reserve some lemon juice to coat your fish though. Toast your bread crumbs until they also have colour keeping in mind you will bake the breadcrumbs again. Now you’re ready to assemble your fish.
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As I assemble my sardines in a baking tray, I season the flesh side with salt and lemon. I then place them flesh side down in the dish. I line them up like tiles , scattering over my onion mix, then pine nuts then cover with breadcrumbs. I put the dish in an oven at around 180, they wont take long to cook at all, check after 5 mins. You just want the flesh to have turned opaque to tell they're cooked though. Delicious on toast.