Moroccan stuffed sardines

Traditionally known as "mzeouejim," which translates to "married", in reference to the fillets being paired like a couple, this dish features chermoula-filled sardine fillets that are fried. They are usually served with other starters or simple salads.

Credit: Jiwon Kim

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  5 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

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Ingredients

• 4 tomatoes
• sea salt flakes and black pepper
• olive oil, for drizzling and shallow-frying
• 16 fresh sardine fillets, cleaned, butterflied
• 1 cup (150 g) plain flour
• ½ cup semolina flour
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges

For the chermoula 

• 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• 2 bunch coriander, roughly chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 2 green chillies, finely chopped
• 1 red chilli, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp finely chopped preserved lemons
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp paprika
• ¼ cup olive oil

Instructions

1. To make the chermoula, place the chopped herbs and garlic in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. You can also do this in a mortar and pestle. Add the remaining ingredients and pulse to a thick paste and season to taste with salt and pepper.

2. Slice the tomatoes in half, then use a cheese grater or microplane to grate into a medium bowl. Season with salt, pepper and olive oil and toss lightly to combine.

3. Take one sardine fillet and spread it with 1 tbsp prepared chermoula, then place a second sardine fillet on top and lightly press together. Repeat with the remaining sardines and chermoula.

4. Combine the flours in a medium bowl and season generously with salt and mix well to combine. Heat enough oil in a large frying pan to shallow-fry.

5. Once the oil is hot, gently dip the sardines into the flour mixture, then fry for 2 minutes per side in batches – take care not to overcrowd the pan. Transfer the cooked sardines to a paper-towel lined plate and sprinkle with salt.

6. Serve the Moroccan-stuffed sardines with the grated tomato and lemon wedges.

Photography by Jiwon Kim.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

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Simple Seafood

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Watch the full episode here

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