Image: Brittany via Eating Bird Food

Ingredients:


  • 1 small Lebanese cucumber, diced
  • 1 punnet cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 3 spring onions (scallions), finely chopped
  • 1 carrot, grated
  • 1 medium beetroot, scrubbed, peeled and grated
  • ¼ cup flaked almonds, toasted
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • zest and  juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed
  • sea salt, to taste
  • freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 12 whole sardines, scaled and gutted
  • extra virgin coconut oil, for brushing the fish
  • 4 tablespoons roughly chopped flat-leaf  (Italian) parsley
  • 1 lemon, quartered

Directions

  1. Place the cucumber, tomato, spring onion, carrot, beetroot and almonds in a large bowl and gently toss to combine.
  2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon zest and juice, maple syrup and garlic.
  3. Pour the dressing over the salad and season with salt and pepper.
  4. Mix well, then set aside until ready to serve.
  5. Wash and pat dry the sardines. Brush with coconut oil and season with salt and pepper all over.
  6. Heat the griddle pan, frying pan or barbeque grill and cook the sardines over a very high heat for 3-4 minutes in total, turning once. The sardines should be cooked through and slightly charred.
  7. Divide the salad between four serving plates and top each one with three sardines.
  8. Sprinkle with parsley and squeeze over the juice from a lemon wedge.

Recipe by Claire Yates, BHSc. This recipe was taken from the book Optimum Health the Paleo Way.