Sardines on Creamy Mash with Roasted Broccoli and Dill

A proper tin-to-table dinner: rich, comforting, and far more satisfying than it looks effortless to make.

⌛ 30 minutes ✧ 🍽️ 2

🐟 Sardines in olive oil

Sardines on Creamy Mash with Roasted Broccoli and Dill

This is weeknight comfort food with a coastal soul. Buttery mashed potatoes as the base, whole sardine fillets laid on top, a small spoonful of black olive tapenade spooned over the fish, and a sprig of fresh dill to finish. Roasted broccoli and a halved cherry tomato on the side. Everything on one plate, nothing overcomplicated. The kind of dinner that feels genuinely nourishing — because it is.

Ingredients

1 tin of sardines in olive oil (approx. 120g)
600g floury potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
30g butter
3–4 tbsp warm milk or cream
200g broccoli, cut into florets
2 tbsp black olive tapenade
A handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
A few sprigs of fresh dill
Olive oil, flaky salt, and black pepper

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Toss the broccoli with olive oil and a pinch of salt. Roast for 20–25 minutes until tender and charred at the edges.
Boil the potatoes in salted water for 15–18 minutes until completely tender. Drain well.
Mash the potatoes with butter and warm milk until smooth and creamy. Season generously with salt and pepper.
Spoon the mash onto each plate in a generous mound.
Open the sardines and lay the fillets over the mash. Spoon a little tapenade over each fillet and drizzle with a little oil from the tin.
Arrange the roasted broccoli and cherry tomatoes alongside. Finish with a sprig of fresh dill and serve immediately.

Serving suggestion

Use the oil from the tin — drizzled over the mash and fish it adds a quiet depth that butter alone can't give. The tapenade is the secret here: it adds saltiness and a rich, briny contrast to the creamy potato. This is a dinner that works on a cold evening, eaten slowly, with no distractions needed.