Grab a bucket and join in the excitement of scooping up these little fish as they beach, chased closer to the shore by other bigger species of fish, or else sit down and watch the birds dipping and diving after the fish. Or watch the fisherman scooping up huge amounts of sardines with their nets. They also sell them right there at the spot, from one to cooler bags full, and fresher than that you cannot get. You will soon after that also be able to by them next to the road if you had missed the catch.
With the sardine run obviously comes the urge to do something with this abundance of fish, and the following recipes are just the thing to fulfill that urge.
The following is a sardine braai (barbeque) bread with salsa, serving 4 people:
Ingredients:
- 8 sardine fillets (heads and tails removed)
- 1 fine chopped red onion
- 4 chopped tomatoes
- 30 gram fresh chopped coriander
- 2 chopped garlic cloves
- 20 ml sugar
- 20 ml vinegar
- 20 ml olive oil
- 1 lemon cut to thin slices with salt and black pepper according to taste
- fresh thyme for garnering
- 8 slices Italian bread
Mix the onion, tomatoes, coriander, garlic, vinegar and sugar in a small bowl.
Spread some olive oil on the bread and braai to golden brown.
Cut each sardine in the length and fill with thyme and the lemon slices.
Sprinkle with salt and freshly grinded black pepper.
Braai for +- 5 minutes each side until crispy.
Place some salsa on the bread.
Place the sardines on top of the salsa and serve with the remaining salsa.
20110622 KwaZulu-Natal might this year provide for another unforgettable experience! Thousands of birds and dolphins were after sardine schools for about six kilometres from Brazen Head up to the Umtatariver lagoon in the Wild Coast. This is what Mr. Mike Anderson-Reade, operational head at the KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board, faced while flying along the coast to investigate the progress of the yearly sardine migration.
"It was a massive school of sardines and if continuing to swim North towards the KwaZulu-Natal coast it might become a spectacular event this year!"
There were also a large collection of predators at Port Grosvenor which is north of Waterfall Bluff where sardine schools normally abide before swimming along the KwaZulu-Natal coastline.
He expects these sardines to reach the KwaZulu-Natala coast this week already.