Grilled Sardines with Olive & Caper Salsa

You probably know by now that sardines are super good for you with their high amount of omega 3 fatty acids and high amounts of protein but have you ever had fresh sardines?

No? I thought so. We’re so used to eating sardines out of a can that most of us have had no idea what they’re like fresh. Answer, delicious.

I’ve paired these grilled sardines with an olive caper salsa and charred lemons for one low-carb meal you’ll want to make all-the-time.

If you’re new the cooking whole fish there’s a few thing you should know:

1. If you can, buy the fish already scaled and cleaned.
2. If you can’t you’ll need to rinse of the scales and gut the fish. Not a pretty job but it goes fast and it’s super easy. This video shows the best way to clean sardines.
3. You don’t have to leave the heads on if that makes you or your dinner party companions squeamish. Simply remove them when cleaning or have your fishmonger do it for you.

Step-by-step

1. Preheat your grill or grill pan to medium-high heat. Clean the sardines (this video shows the best way to clean sardines).

   

2. Brush the sardines with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

3. Toss together the salsa ingredients in a small bowl.

   

4. Place the sardines on the grill along with the lemon cut side down.

5. Grill sardines for about 3 minutes per side until charred. Transfer to a platter along with the charred lemon.

   

6. Spread the salsa over the top of the sardines and serve.

   

Recipe

Grilled Sardines with Olive & Caper Salsa

★★★★★4.8 (39 ratings)

Grilled sardines served with heart-healthy olive & caper salsa and charred lemons in a delicious low-carb meal ...

Hands on

20m

Overall

20m

Servings

4

1.9 g

Net carbs

32.5 g

Protein

33.7 g

Fat

411

kcal

1 serving2 servings3 servings4 servings5 servings6 servings7 servings8 servings9 servings10 servings11 servings12 servings16 servings

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Ingredients makes 4 servings

• Sardines:
• 8 large fresh sardines, scaled and cleaned (800 g/ 1.76 lb) - will yield about 80% meat
• ¹/₄ cup extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 lemon, halved
• Salsa:
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon zest
• 1 ¹/₂ tbsp mixed herbs, minced (rosemary, oregano, parsley)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ¹/₂ cup green olives, minced (57 g)
• 3 tbsp minced red onion (50 g)
• 1 heaped tbsp capers (16 g/ 0.5 oz)
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (30 ml)

Instructions

1. Preheat your grill or grill pan to medium-high heat. Clean the sardines (this video shows the best way to clean sardines).

2. Brush the sardines with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

3. Toss together the salsa ingredients in a small bowl.

4. Place the sardines on the grill along with the lemon cut side down.

5. Grill sardines for about 3 minutes per side until charred. Transfer to a platter along with the charred lemon.

6. Spread the salsa over the top of the sardines and serve.

Nutrition per serving, 2 sardines + 2 tbsp salsa

Carbs 2%Protein 30%Fat 68% of calories

Net carbs

1.9 g

Total carbs

3 g

Fiber

1.1 g

Sugars

0.9 g

Protein

32.5 g

Fat

33.7 g

Saturated fat

3.1 g

Calories

411 kcal

Sodium

412 mg · 17.9% RDA

Magnesium

59 mg · 14.8% RDA

Potassium

593 mg · 29.7% EMR

Nutrition by ingredient

Per 2 sardines + 2 tbsp salsa	Net carbs	Protein	Fat	kcal
Sardines, fresh (cleaned)	0 g	32 g	11.2 g	200
Olive oil, extra virgin	0 g	0 g	13.5 g	119
Salt, pink Himalayan rock salt	0 g	0 g	0 g	0
Pepper, black, spices	0 g	0 g	0 g	0
Lemon juice, fresh	0.2 g	0 g	0 g	1
Lemon zest (peel), fresh	0.1 g	0 g	0 g	1
Parsley, fresh (spices)	0 g	0 g	0 g	0
Rosemary, fresh	0 g	0 g	0 g	0
Oregano, fresh	0.1 g	0 g	0 g	1
Garlic, fresh	0.5 g	0.1 g	0 g	2
Green olives	0.1 g	0.1 g	2.2 g	21
Onion, red, fresh	0.8 g	0.2 g	0 g	5
Capers, canned	0.1 g	0.1 g	0 g	1
Olive oil, extra virgin	0 g	0 g	6.8 g	60
Total	1.9 g	32.5 g	33.7 g	411

Serving size 2 sardines + 2 tbsp salsa

• Gluten free
• Dairy free
• Egg free
• Nut free
• Nightshade free
• Pork free
• Avocado free
• Coconut free
• Shellfish free
• Pescatarian