Grilled Parma-wrapped Stuffed Sardines #FishFridayFoodies

These grilled Parma-wrapped stuffed sardines have a flavorful filling of spicy seasonings, breadcrumbs and toasted pine nuts. We cook them over hot coals, which crisps up the Parma ham and adds a delightful smokiness.

I am fortunate to be able to get fresh sardines at my local fish market here in the Channel Islands. In fact, with the exception of Singapore, where I could only assume the fishermen didn’t bother catching them because they would have sold for so little, they’ve been available every place we’ve lived. (On the other hand, Singapore had cheap green-lipped mussels, something we never saw in Malaysia. Same fishing waters so it was a mystery.)

We love fresh sardines because they are not only full of flavor but they are quick cooking and cheap. If you are lucky enough to have a fishmonger who will debone the sardines for you, you are off to an easy start. If not, it’s really quite simple. Check out this butterflied stuffed sardine recipe for instructions with photos.

This month it’s my turn to host Fish Friday Foodies so I chose Grilled Seafood as our theme. Make sure you scrolled down to the bottom to check out the other grilled recipes we are sharing.

Grilled Parma-wrapped Stuffed Sardines

These guys make a lovely dinner with side dishes or serve them up individually on a bed of lightly dressed mixed greens as a starter at your next barbecue.

Ingredients
1/4 cup or 35g toasted pine nuts
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for greasing the aluminum grilling tray
1 large onion, peeled, finely chopped
1 red chili, finely chopped
1 large clove garlic, peeled and minced
2/3 cup, loosely packed, or 40g fresh breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon butter
Fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
10 small sardines, gutted, heads and bones removed
5 slices Parma ham, cut in half lengthwise

Lemon wedges to serve and parsley to garnish, optional

Method
First, make the stuffing: Heat the olive oil in a pan and gently cook the onion, garlic, chili until they are tender and almost a mush. Do this slowly so they don’t brown too much or scorch.

Remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly, then stir in the butter, the breadcrumbs and pine nuts. Season with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.

Open the deboned sardines up and divide the filling between them.

Fold them back into shape then wrap each one with a half slice of Parma ham.

Refrigerate covered with cling film, until ready to grill.

Light coals in your barbecue pit. When they are grey, which usually takes about 20 minutes, you are ready to grill the sardines. Meanwhile, lightly grease an aluminum grilling tray* with olive oil.   (*Amazon affiliate link)

Place the grilling tray on the barbecue grill and add the stuffed sardines.

Cook for a couple of minutes uncovered, then put the lid on with the vent well open for another three.

Use a metal spatula to loosen the sardines from the grilling tray, then turn them over carefully.

Cook for another couple of minutes uncovered, then put the lid on, again with the vent well open.

Cook for another 4-5 minutes or until the sardines are cooked through. I gently separate the meat with the point of knife at the thickest spot to check. It should be whitish and opaque.

Transfer the stuffed sardines to a warmed serving dish, sprinkle with parsley and serve with lemon wedges.

Enjoy!

Check out the other grilled seafood dishes my Fish Friday Foodies friends are sharing today!

• Campfire Salmon from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Grilled Cajun Style Gumbo from Palatable Pastime
• Grilled Parma-wrapped Stuffed Sardines from Food Lust People Love
• Grilled Salmon Sandwiches with Basil Dill Sauce from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Provencal Shrimp and Veggies in Foil from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Spicy Grilled Shrimps With Pea Risotto from Sneha's Recipe

Would you like to join Fish Friday Foodies? We post and share new seafood/fish recipes on the third Friday of the month. To join our group please email Wendy at wendyklik1517 (at) gmail.com. Visit our Facebook page and Pinterest page for more wonderful fish and seafood recipe ideas.

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Butterflied Stuffed Sardines #FishFridayFoodies

Butterflied Stuffed Sardines make the most of these flavorful fish, by removing the bones and adding even more flavor with a well-seasoned bread crumb stuffing.

Growing up, I never knew that there was such a thing as fresh sardines. In the Gulf of Mexico, seafood was plentiful but we never seemed to eat smaller fish. All the fishermen I knew threw the little guys back in.

That all changed for me after a holiday to Portugal. Fresh sardines were everywhere! In grocery stores, roadside dives, beach huts and even fancy restaurants. After that, I cooked them whenever the opportunity came up.

One summer, about 16 or 17 years ago, I was fangirling over Jamie Oliver’s second book, called either The Return of the Naked Chef or The Naked Chef Takes Off, depending on whether you have the US or UK release. I didn’t realize they were the same book so, of course, I have one of each.

We happened to be in the Channel Islands where sardines are readily available and super cheap. Not everyone in our group was keen on all the bones so Jamie’s grilled butterflied sardines sounded like a recipe everyone would like. It is fiddly to remove the backbones but it sure makes eating these beauties a breeze.

Here’s the funny thing. I was discussing this month’s “seafood with stuffing” Fish Friday Foodies challenge with both my husband and younger daughter and I asked them if they remembered these butterflied stuffed sardines from so long ago. They both did! And then they wanted to know why I hadn’t made them but maybe once since. I have no excuse but to say, I won’t leave it that long before the next time.

Butterflied Stuffed Sardines

This is the perfect dish for folks who love fresh sardines but hate dealing with the bones!

Ingredients
1/4 cup or 25g fresh bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 fine green onions, minced
1 small handful flat leaf parsley, minced
Zest 1 lemon – use a microplane for best results
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil, plus a little extra for pan-frying
6 large fresh sardines, scaled and gutted

To serve: lemon wedges and parsley

Method
Rinse your sardines with plenty of cool water and set them on some paper towels to dry.

Mix the rest of the ingredients together well in a bowl and set aside.

Cut the heads off of the sardines and discard. With one hand press each sardine open and use the other hand to work the spine free of the body. This is tricky to get started but once it’s free up near the top (where the head used to be) it comes out rather easily the rest of the way down.

You can remove the tails, if you'd like to, but I thought they were prettier with their tails so I snipped the backbones with scissors and left them the tails intact.

Give the sardines another rinse and pat dry with paper towels. Divide the stuffing between the sardines and use damp hands to pat it down.

Heat a non-stick pan with a small drizzle of olive oil over a medium flame. Cook the sardines for a few minutes on each side, until they are cooked through and the stuffing is golden. I put them skin side down first then carefully flipped them over. I also cooked them in two batches so as not to crowd the pan, which makes flipping carefully a challenge.

Plate them up with a few springs of parsley and some lemon wedges so everyone can add a squeeze, if desired.

Enjoy!

If you love fresh sardines, you might also enjoy my whole pan-fried sardines, another Fish Friday Foodie recipe.

As previously mentioned, this month’s theme is seafood with stuffing or, even, seafood stuffing. After all, stuffing is not just for turkeys! Many thanks to our host is Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm. Check out all the great recipes we are sharing today.

An InLinkz Link-up

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