Butterflied Sardines with Olives, Fennel and Rocket

Butterfly the sardines by cutting off the head and tail, cutting completely up the belly with some scissors, and then use a pointed knife to tease out the backbone. Gently spread out the fish and remove any remaining bones  Picture  

Use a pastry brush to paint olive oil over the sardines, then season with salt and freshly ground (preferably) white pepper. If you are grilling in an oven, put some foil over a grill pan and lightly paint the foil with olive oil.

Discard the outer leaves from the fennel and cut into coarse slices, put in a steamer and steam until softer but still al dente. Meanwhile remove the stones from the olives if necessary and cut into quarters.

Make a dressing of five tablespoonfuls of olive oil to one of lemon juice and season with salt. Wash the rocket if necessary and lightly dress.

Quickly grill the butterflied sardines for a few minutes each side. Meanwhile put the rocket, fennel and olives on to serving dishes, lay the sardines on top and just sprinkle over a little more of the dressing. Serve and enjoy  Zoom  .