Baked Sardines (Apulia)

Fish

Ingredients

Fresh Sardines - 2 pounds

Soft breadcrumbs - 10 tbsps

Garlic, finely chopped - 1 large clove

Parsley, finely chopped - 3 sprigs

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

Lemons - 1-2

Clean the sardines and remove the heads. Open them just enough to enable you to remove their insides and back bones. Reform the sardines as neatly as possible into their original sjape.

Mix together the breadcrumbs, garlic, parsley, a little salt and plenty of pepper, adding just enough olive oil to make a thickish paste.

Brush a baking dish with oil and cover the bottom with a layer of sardines. Spread this lightly with some of the breadcrumb mixture and cover with another layer of sardines and another layer of breadcrumbs. Repeat until all the ingredients are used up, finishing with a layer of breadcrumbs . Put the dish into a slow oven (350F) and bake for at least 30 minutes, or until breadcrumb mixture is brown. Take the sardines from the oven, sprinkle generously with lemon juice and serve immediately.

Serves 6