LEMON-ROASTED SARDINES

SERVES TWO

Ingredients: One lemon or lime, thinly sliced; two x 90g tins of sardines in oil; salt and pepper.

I FIRST made this recipe for friends on holiday. We were staying in Spain and the nearest supermarket had an entire aisle of tinned fish. Sardines were one euro for three tins, and we lived off them all week. Initially my housemates were sceptical at my enthusiasm for feeding them tinned fish all week. But by the end of the first dinnertime, there wasn’t a scrap left and everyone wanted them again. They’re simple, barely any effort, but a real showstopper if you have friends for tea. If you don’t, just pop them on toast or toss through pasta with a little tomato sauce for a quick and easy meal.

Method: First preheat your oven to 190°C (fan 170°C/375ºF/gas 5). Next, lay your lemon or lime slices in the bottom of a small roasting dish, to cover it if possible.

Open the tins of sardines, and drain the oil into a small jar. You can pop this into the fridge and keep it for two weeks to cook something fishy in, such as fishcakes, or anything you don’t mind having a slightly umami background taste.

Using a fork or a small sharp knife, gently remove the sardines one by one and lay them on the lemon slices, keeping them as whole as you can manage. Season with a little salt and pepper, and pop the dish into the oven for 30 minutes to roast.

The whole dish can be eaten, including the lemon slices, which will be soft, tart, sweet and a perfect companion to the salty, strong sardines. ●●Extracted from Tin Can Cook: 75 Simple Storecupboard Recipes by Jack Monroe (Bluebird, £6.99). Call Express Bookshop on 01872 562310 or order on-line via expressbookshop.co.uk UK Delivery £2.95.