Sardines

Grilled fresh sardines: whole, over charcoal or a griddle, finished with lemon and olive oil. The oiliest of the common table fish, intensely saline and marine, with a rendered fat character from the charcoal cooking. The entry is analytically close to Sardinhas assadas from the Portuguese session but the context here is broader: fresh sardines grilled anywhere in the Mediterranean rather than the specific Portuguese charcoal preparation. Oak is eliminated without exception. The wine needs to match the salinity and cut the rendered oil.