Recipe: Broiled Sardines With Lemon and Thyme

By Mark Bittman, The New York Times

FOR years, the only kind of sardines available to the average American were packed in oil, water or tomato sauce, sold in little rectangular cans, first with keys and later with pop-tops.

But because they’re plentiful and not endangered as a species (and full of healthful omega-3 fatty acids), fresh sardines are enjoying something of a renaissance. It helps that they’re delicious and inexpensive.

You’re likely to see them on the menus of fancy restaurants, usually as appetizers and usually “grilled.” I use quotation marks because what restaurants advertise as grilled sardines are usually broiled, for two reasons. One is that few restaurants are equipped to do real grilling. The other is that it’s extremely difficult to grill a sardine. Their flesh is so fragile they fall apart. (Wrapping them in grape leaves or paper-thin prosciutto slices is an option, but that process is a pain and decidedly unnecessary.)

Read the rest at the New York Times.