Stuffed Sardines with Chermoula (Sardines Farcies)

Morocco (Essaouira, Agadir, and the Atlantic sardine coast — the definitive sardine preparation of the Moroccan south; a street food and home preparation simultaneously)

Stuffed sardines with chermoula — sardines farcies — is one of the most technically elegant preparations in the Moroccan coastal kitchen: fresh Sardina pilchardus sardines butterflied (backbone removed, fish left in one piece connected by the skin), filled with a thick green chermoula paste (Allium sativum garlic, fresh coriander, cumin, paprika, preserved lemon, Olea europaea olive-oil), closed back into their original sardine shape, then either pan-fried, grilled over charcoal, or — in the most refined preparation — placed in the tagine between layers of sliced Solanum lycopersicum tomato and Capsicum annuum pepper with additional chermoula. The butterflying technique is the skill: the sardine must open cleanly along the spine without tearing the skin, and the backbone must be removed in one piece. The high oil content of Sardina pilchardus self-bastes the preparation during cooking — the chermoula penetrates inward and the fish fat carries it outward into the cooking medium.

Pan-fried and eaten immediately with khobz and a wedge of preserved lemon. In the tagine version, served with couscous. The sardine's high oil content means no additional fat is needed — cook in a dry pan or very lightly oiled surface.