Fresh From the Mediterranean

Tunisia has roughly 1,300 kilometres of coastline, and along it sardines are not a delicacy but a staple — landed at La Goulette, Bizerte, Sfax and Mahdia, sold by the kilo at market stalls where the ice is still crunching. They are cheap, abundant and best eaten within a day of being caught, which is exactly why they taste so good grilled over charcoal with nothing more than a herb paste and a squeeze of lemon.

If you have only met sardines in a tin, the fresh version will surprise you. The flesh is sweet and firm, with a rich oily quality that stands up to smoke and heat rather than being overwhelmed by it. In Tunisian home cooking, sardines are often fried, stuffed, or baked into a tajine, but the simplest treatment — rubbed with chermoula and thrown on a hot grill — is the one that appears most often on summer tables and at beachside cafés.

What Chermoula Actually Is

Chermoula is the great herb marinade of the Maghreb, found across Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. It is not a sauce you cook down; it is a coarse, pungent paste you rub into fish, chicken or vegetables before they hit the heat. Every household has its own version, and arguments about the correct proportions are entirely normal and entirely enjoyable.

The Tunisian approach tends to be generous with fresh coriander, sharp with lemon, heavy on garlic and cumin, and often lifted with a spoonful of harissa or a pinch of caraway. It should taste bright and a little aggressive on its own — the fish will soften it. A good chermoula smells like a herb garden after rain with a warm, earthy undertone, and it should look like wet, dark green sand rather than a smooth purée.

The Chermoula, Measured

• A large handful of fresh coriander, stalks included
• A smaller handful of flat-leaf parsley
• 3–4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• ½ tsp caraway seeds, lightly crushed (optional but very Tunisian)
• 1–2 tsp harissa, or a pinch of dried chilli flakes
• Juice of 1 lemon, plus the zest if you like
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 4–5 tbsp good olive oil

Pound everything except the oil in a pestle and mortar, or pulse it briefly in a small processor. You want texture, not a smoothie — stop while there are still flecks of green and visible flecks of chilli. Stir the olive oil in last so the paste loosens gradually. Let it sit for twenty minutes before using; the garlic and cumin need that time to settle into the herbs.

This makes enough for about 12 sardines. It keeps in the fridge for three or four days if you cover the surface with a thin layer of oil, and it is excellent on roasted carrots, grilled aubergine or a whole bream.

Preparing and Grilling the Sardines

Buy them as fresh as you can find them — bright eyes, stiff bodies, a clean sea smell. Ask your fishmonger to gut and scale them, or do it yourself under cold running water. You can leave the heads on, which is traditional, or remove them if you prefer; either way, wipe the fish dry inside and out.

Slash each sardine two or three times diagonally on both flanks, down to the bone. This lets the marinade reach the flesh and helps the fish cook evenly without curling. Rub the chermoula all over, inside the cavities and into the slashes, then leave them covered in the fridge for at least thirty minutes and up to two hours. Any longer and the lemon starts to break down the texture of the flesh.

Get your grill properly hot — charcoal is ideal, but a well-preheated ridged pan or gas grill works well too. Oil the grate cleanly with a folded kitchen towel and tongs, because sardines are delicate and will cling to a dirty bar. Lay them on and then do not touch them for two to three minutes. Turn once, using a thin fish slice or a pair of tongs, and give them another two minutes. They are done when the skin is blistered and the flesh at the bone is opaque but still juicy. Overcooking is the only real way to ruin them.

If you are nervous about turning them, a hinged fish basket is a sensible investment. It also lets you grill a dozen at once for a crowd.

Serving at the Tunisian Table

Sardines like this are eaten hot, warm, or at room temperature, and they are always part of a spread rather than a plated main course. Put out lemon wedges, a bowl of harissa, good olive oil, black olives, and a tomato and onion salad dressed with cumin and vinegar. Add mechouia — grilled peppers and tomatoes mashed with garlic — if you have the time, and a dish of harissa thinned with a little lemon for dipping.

The essential accompaniment is flatbread. In Tunisia you tear off a piece and use it to pull the flesh from the bone, wrapping it around a mouthful of sardine with a little salad and chilli. Knives and forks are optional. Your fingers will smell of smoke, lemon and coriander for the rest of the evening, which is a fair price.

Practical Notes and Variations

• Mackerel, bream, red mullet and small sea bass all take chermoula happily — adjust the grilling time to the thickness of the fish.
• If you have a barbecue with a lid, cook the sardines over direct heat with the lid off; they need fierce, quick heat rather than gentle smoke.
• Leftover grilled sardines flake beautifully into couscous, or into a warm potato salad with more lemon and olive oil.
• Chermoula freezes well in an ice-cube tray, so make a double batch while the herbs are fresh.
• Sardines are at their fattest and finest from late spring through summer, which is precisely when you want to be standing outside with a pair of tongs.