Recipe: Marinated Fresh Monterey Sardines

the appetizer:

My Nepenthe by Romney Steele, includes recipes from the Big Sur restaurant like Marinated Fresh Monterey Sardines; Rosemary Lamb Brochettes with Mint Pesto; Wine Poached Quince with Rosemary; and Herb-Stuffed Pork Loin Roast with Wine Poached Quince.

Cookbook

Marinated Fresh Monterey Sardines

Serves 4 to 6

When I was growing up, Nepenthe served sardine sandwiches made with imported canned sardines, a luxury item then, on thin slices of black bread with mayonnaise and leafy, green lettuce, along with a wedge of lemon and a thick slice of purple onion. I remember sneaking the sardine tins from the dry storage, peeling back the shiny lids with a church key, and then fingering out the oily fish, eating the delicate fillets with saltine crackers. Nepenthe's sardine sandwich had a cult following but drifted off the menu in the early '70s.

Monterey was once known for its canned sardine industry and the health of its fishery, before it went under in the late 1950s. Today, Pacific sardine stocks are flourishing again, and the small, oily fish are making a comeback on the culinary scene. I like to purchase fresh whole sardines and marinate them with a touch of citrus and garlic, like ceviche. Layer slices on toasted baguette or German-style bread with a little Garlic Basil Aioli (page 276 of the book) or mayonnaise, then top with a few leaves of arugula or mâche and a thin slice of lemon for a dressed-up version of how we served it at Nepenthe long ago.

4 to 6 fresh sardines, cleaned and filleted
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
3 or 4 slices lemon and/or orange
1 sprig fresh thyme
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or mint
1/4 cup olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon good-quality red wine vinegar, or juice of 1 lemon

Place the sardines in a nonreactive shallow dish with the garlic and lemon slices. Stem the thyme and scatter over the fish with the parsley. Cover with the oil. Grind some fresh pepper over the top and drizzle with the vinegar. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 1 day, occasionally turning the sardines over so that they marinate evenly.