Our Fish Markets are now full of fresh Sardines. They are so easy to prepare and we especially love them simply grilled on a BBQ (or even better, on the beach) or briefly Marinated.

Not only do they taste good, they are also healthy (food speak: they are rich in Omega 3 Fatty Acids, Calcium, Vitamin D and B12 ).

Sardines on Toast is something that I grew up with back in the UK, however, at that time we could only get hold of tinned Sardines, normally packed in Oil or a Tomato Sauce. At that time I had never imagined that they could be eaten fresh, in fact, I had never even seen a fresh one!

For some reason when some fresh Sardines arrived to our kitchens yesterday, it brought back memories of traveling through France, where I enjoyed a more grown up version of Sardines on Toast at a local Brasserie, served on grilled country bread and a bed of Ratatouille.

This gave me the idea of making a similar version, this time using Jéow Mhak Lhen, or Lao Style Tomato Chutney as an inspiration.

The Sardines were cleaned and filleted before being covered in Salt for 15 minutes, after the salt is removed they are then covered with a Yuzu Vinaigrette for 10 minutes before being stored in Extra Virgin Olive Oil before serving. The process is quick and ensures that the fish are not “over-cured” and lets the fillets retain their natural tenderness.

Tomatoes are skinned, deseeded and diced along with Shallots, Garlic and crushed Coriander Roots before being slow cooked in light Chicken Stock until all the liquid has evapourated and you are left with a “jam-like” texture. I thought about grilling the ingredients first but didn’t want to overpower the dish.

Simple Sandwich bread is brushed with Shallot Oil before being toasted.

Lime zest is then grated to give the dish a citrus aroma.

The result is a delicate, natually sweetish (Tomatoes) and lightly salty and sour (Sardine) mixture. So good in fact, I ate 9 of them.

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This week we served up a nice tin of Caviar.

There are many ways to serve up this luxurious dish, but when you are serving an entire 200g tin, I like to keep it simple as possible, just served with small toast triangles. Lovely and yummy.

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Even though we are busy, its not all work, work, work.

We always have time to go out and eat. Rose and Laurene enjoy a pre-dinner beer (at 00.30hrs, yep we eat late and restaurants are open until late).

And even later on….

Junior, King and Anouck hit the town festival to party.

Talking about Parties and Celebrations, let us Wish Everyone a

Happy New Year

or

Sok Dee Bee Mai