Sardines on Crispbread with Stir-Fried Paprika and Fennel

A ten-minute dinner that's warm, crunchy, and coastal. With almost nothing to wash up.

⌛ 15 minutes ✧ 🍽️ 2

🐟 Sardines in olive oil

Sardines on Crispbread with Stir-Fried Paprika and Fennel

This is effortless eating at its best. A quick stir-fry of sliced fennel and bell pepper — soft, sweet, and slightly caramelized — served alongside thin crispbread with sardines laid straight on top. No cooking the fish, no complicated assembly. The warm vegetables and the rich, savory sardines do everything together. Nourishing, simple, and the kind of dinner you'll come back to again and again.

Ingredients

1 tin of sardines in olive oil (approx. 120g)
1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
1 bell pepper (any color), thinly sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
4–6 thin crispbreads or hard bread slices
Flaky salt and black pepper

Instructions

Heat olive oil in a wide pan over medium-high heat. Add the fennel and bell pepper and stir-fry for 8–10 minutes until soft, slightly golden, and caramelized at the edges. Season with salt and pepper.
Arrange the crispbreads on a plate alongside the warm stir-fried vegetables.
Open the sardines and lay the fillets directly on top of the crispbreads.
Drizzle a little oil from the tin over the sardines. Serve immediately while the vegetables are still warm.

Serving suggestion

The contrast between the warm, sweet vegetables and the cool, savory sardines on crisp bread is what makes this dish. A squeeze of lemon over the stir-fry just before serving adds a nice brightness. This is a great weeknight dinner that also works as a generous lunch — and everything comes together in one pan.