Marinated sardines, Joan Roca's summer recipe, from El Celler de Can Roca

GironaChef Joan Roca explains how to prepare a pickled sardine dish to make and eat on the same day. Although the technique is known because it helps preserve food well from one day to the next, the chef from El Celler de Can Roca suggests aiming for the freshest point of the fish. And for this reason, he suggests that it is a preparation that is much better if it is made and eaten.

Ingredients for 4 people

• 1 kg of fresh sardines
• 1/2 head of garlic
• 1 medium onion
• 1/2 green pepper
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1/2 yellow pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 sprig of thyme
• 1 sprig of oregano
• 1 tablespoon of red pepper
• 50 g of wine vinegar (to your taste, it can be a mild vinegar)
• 300 g of virgin olive oil
• Salt

Preparation

Clean the sardines: remove the scales and guts. Salt them, flour them, and fry them in very hot oil. Set them aside.Separately, in a cast iron or clay pot, add 75 g of oil and sauté the peeled garlic cloves. Next, add the onion and the peppers cut into thin strips.When they take on color, add a spoonful of red pepper and aromatic herbs (bay leaf, oregano, thyme). Remove from heat, and incorporate the rest of the oil and vinegar.Add the sardines and let them cook for a couple of minutes over very low heat. Let it cool. It is best to eat it the same day.Advice

In this recipe, we recommend whole sardines. If you want them filleted, instead of salting them, place them in a brine of very cold water with 10% salt for five minutes. In this case, cook them directly in the pickling liquid, without frying them first, for just a couple of minutes over very low heat.Classic escabeches cook the food enough to contribute to its preservation, and this allows them to be consumed a few days after preparation, when the meat has more flavor because it has been impregnated with the flavor of the escabeche. On the other hand, this recipe opts for a fresher taste of the fish, which is achieved with a shorter cooking time, and that is why it must be consumed the same day.The best sardines are from May to October. If they are small, they can be eaten whole.Sardines

They are in full season. In fact, fishermen's saying is that sardines should be eaten in months that do not contain R in their name, so until September they are very good. In addition, they are good for the heart and the brain, because they are an essential source of omega-3 fatty acids.

Onion

A nutritional gem. It contains minerals (calcium, magnesium, iodine, iron, among others), desirable amino acids like quercetin, which is known to help combat hair loss and improve intestinal inflammation. It also contains provitamin A (related to good eye health), C, E, and folic acid.

Thyme

Thyme is linked to many preparations in the Catalan recipe book. The best-known benefits for the digestive system are that it aids digestion. Therefore, it is good for regulating intestinal function, and helps the respiratory system as an expectorant.