Ask anyone who grew up in Portugal what June smells like, and they won’t say flowers. They’ll say charcoal and sardine smoke drifting over every street during Santos Populares, the saint’s day festivals that turn whole neighborhoods into open-air grills from mid-June through the summer.
Grilled sardines are the taste of a Portuguese summer, and above all of the Santos Populares in June, when Lisbon’s neighborhoods fill with arraiais and people eat sardines standing up, straight off a slice of bread.
Sardinhas assadas are about as simple as Portuguese cooking gets, and that’s the whole point. Fresh sardines, coarse salt, a hot grill, nothing else needed until the fish hits the plate, at which point a drizzle of good olive oil and maybe a squeeze of lemon finishes the job. The classic plate underneath is boiled potatoes and a roasted red pepper salad, which soak up all that smoky, salty fish oil and turn into the best part of the meal.
The classic plate is simple: sardines, boiled potatoes, grilled peppers and a salad.
If you can’t find fresh sardines, frozen whole sardines from a Latino or Asian market work well once thawed and patted dry, just avoid the tiny canned kind, they’re a different animal entirely.
This pairs beautifully with the piri-piri sauce from our Portuguese Piri-Piri Chicken (recipe on the site), and for the full Santos Populares spread, serve it alongside our Caldo Verde (recipe on the site) for the cooler evenings.
Sardinhas Assadas Recipe
Ingredients
- For the sardines:
- 12 whole fresh sardines, scaled and gutted (ask your fishmonger to do this)
- 2 tablespoons coarse sea salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges
- For the classic sides:
- 1 1/2 pounds small yellow potatoes, unpeeled
- 2 red bell peppers
- 1 green bell pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Rinse the sardines and pat them completely dry. Season generously with coarse sea salt on both sides and inside the cavity, then let them sit at room temperature for 15 minutes while you heat the grill (the salt draws out just enough moisture for really crisp skin).
- Boil the potatoes in salted water until fork-tender, about 20 minutes, then drain and keep warm.
- Meanwhile, char the bell peppers directly over a gas flame or under the broiler, turning until blackened all over. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let steam for 10 minutes, then peel off the skins, remove the seeds, and slice into strips. Toss with garlic, red wine vinegar, 3 tablespoons olive oil, salt, and pepper.
- Heat a charcoal or gas grill to high heat and oil the grates well. Grill the sardines 3 to 4 minutes per side, until the skin is crisp and blistered and the flesh flakes easily at the thickest part.
- Plate the sardines over the warm potatoes with the pepper salad alongside. Drizzle everything with olive oil and serve with lemon wedges.
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