Confit Green Garlic & Cornish Sardines with James Strawbridge

Sweet confit green garlic, garlic salt and crispy garlic roots give a textured, seasonal layer to a coastal classic – sardines on toast.

For James, provenance is key and Oli’s Green Garlic – grown just 20 minutes away on his organic farm in Liskeard – is the perfect accompaniment to Cornish sardines. Harvested when still young, Green Garlic is fragrant, and more mild than fully developed bulbs meaning it doesn’t overpower the delicate fish, even when James incorporates every part of it into the dish.

Save the Green Garlic Salt for up to 12 months and use it to season vegetables, meat and fish throughout the year. Find more salt inspiration in James’ recently published book, Salt and the Art of Seasoning.

GREEN GARLIC & SARDINES ON TOAST

Serves 2

Ingredients

8-12 Green Garlic bulbs
200ml olive oil, for confit
1 tsp fennel seeds
6 sprigs of thyme
50g Blackthorn salt
2 tbsp rapeseed oil, for frying
6 MSC Cornish Sardine fillets, butterflied
1 tbsp olive oil
Pinch of paprika
250g tomatoes (we recommend Marinda or Datterini Tomatoes at this time of year)
1 tsp finely chopped thyme leaves
1 tbsp cider vinegar
Basil to garnish

To serve

2 slices of sourdough, toasted

Method

1. Trim the Green Garlic, separating the tops, bulbs and roots. You’ll be using every part. Preheat the oven to 140˚C and submerge the bulbs in olive oil with several sprigs of thyme and fennel seeds. Cook for two to three hours until soft. Drain off the oil and keep it to use later.

2. Finely slice eight of the Green Garlic Tops and spread them out on a tray. Place in the oven with the bulbs for the last 45 minutes of the cooking process where they will dry out, intensifying in flavour. Allow to cool then blitz in a food processor with Blackthorn salt. Keep in a labelled, sealed container for up to 12 months.

3. Dice the tomatoes and mix with thyme, cider vinegar and some of the reserved confit oil. Season to taste.

4. Arrange the sardines on a tray and season with a pinch of salt, pepper, and paprika. Grill them for six to seven minutes.

5. Fry the Green Garlic roots in hot rapeseed oil for two to three minutes until golden brown and crispy. Drain off excess oil on a sheet of kitchen roll and season with Green Garlic salt.

6. Plate up the tomatoes on toasted sourdough with grilled sardines, the confit Green Garlic and crispy roots. Garnish with some baby basil leaves and a final pinch of Green Garlic salt.