SARDINES WITH CAMPARI, PEACH AND FENNEL

Serves 2

This is really sunshine on a plate. Campari and peach give the dish an Italian flourish, while fennel and mint make a piquant salad base.

6 sardines or 2 mackerel fillets 2 ripe peaches 2 tbsp Campari 3 tbsp olive oil 1 tsp sea salt 1 tbsp peppercornsized breadcrumbs Handful of rustic croutons, made by toasting sourdough and ripping it into small pieces

1 fennel bulb, cut into thin strips, tops reserved Handful of fresh mint leaves

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper Handful of black olives, stoned

If using sardines, butterfly them: remove the head, trim the fin and slit the body from belly to tail. Open the fish out like a book and place, skin-side up, on a board. With your hand, press down along the backbone to flatten it. Turn the fish over, pull out the backbone and cut off the tail. Finally, pick out any obvious bones left behind.

Finely grate one of the peaches into a bowl and stir in the Campari. Spoon half this mixture into another bowl and set aside. Add the fish to the first bowl, stir well and leave to marinate in the Campari-peach mixture for 20 minutes.

Heat a frying pan over a high heat. Add 1 tbsp of the olive oil, the salt and a layer of breadcrumbs; this will help prevent the fish from sticking. Cook the fish for 4 minutes on one side, until the flesh is opaque. Flip and cook for 2 minutes on the other side, then remove from the pan.

Add the croutons to the pan to toast a little further. Slice the remaining peach into slivers, then mix with the croutons, fennel strips, mint leaves and pepper to make a salad.

Whisk the reserved Campari-peach mixture with the remaining olive oil, then sprinkle over the fennel salad and toss to coat. Serve the fish fillets on top of the salad, garnished with the black olives and reserved fennel tops.