The Sardine Lunch Plate

A generous, colorful plate that turns one good tin into a full, satisfying meal.

⌛ 15 minutes ✧ 🍽️ 2

🐟 Sardines in olive oil

This is the kind of lunch that takes fifteen minutes and feels genuinely nourishing. Tinned sardines arranged at the center, surrounded by ribboned cucumber, carrot matchsticks, roasted red pepper, cherry tomatoes, olives, caper berries, cubed cheese, and a handful of green leaves — everything fresh, everything simple. A scatter of cilantro over the fish ties it all together. It's a plate you'd be happy to eat alone, and even happier to share.

Ingredients

2 tins of sardines in olive oil (approx. 120g each)
100g mixed salad leaves (spinach, rocket, watercress)
1 handful of cherry tomatoes
100g aged Gouda or Emmental, cut into small cubes
1 roasted red bell pepper, sliced
1 small zucchini, ribboned with a vegetable peeler
2 medium carrots, cut into thin matchsticks
A handful of green olives
A handful of caper berries
A few cornichons
1 small bunch of fresh cilantro
Good olive oil, flaky salt, and black pepper

Instructions

Prep the vegetables. Ribbon the zucchini lengthways with a peeler, cut the carrots into matchsticks, and slice the roasted pepper.
Arrange the salad leaves across the center of a large plate or shallow bowl.
Open the sardine tins. Lay the fillets over the salad leaves as the centerpiece.
Arrange each ingredient in its own section around the fish — tomatoes, cheese, pepper, zucchini ribbons, carrots, olives, caper berries, and cornichons.
Scatter fresh cilantro generously over the sardines. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of flaky salt.

Serving suggestion

Serve it as it is, as the beauty of this plate is in the arrangement, so bring it whole to the table and let people take what they like. A slice of good sourdough or a few crispbreads on the side make it a full lunch. A glass of chilled dry white wine or sparkling water with lemon is all you need alongside.