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Air Fryer Lemon Garlic Sardines

Name: Air Fryer Lemon Garlic Sardines
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 8 fresh whole sardines scaled, gutted and butterflied; 1.5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil; 2 garlic cloves finely grated; 1 lemon zested, then cut into wedges; 20 g flat-leaf parsley finely chopped; 0.75 tsp fine sea salt; 0.25 tsp black pepper freshly ground

Crisp sardines with parsley and lemon

Whole sardines cooked quickly in the air fryer with garlic, lemon and parsley until crisp outside and tender within.

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Prep10 minsCook10 minsServes4DifficultyEasy

Bright, satisfying and built for real life.

This recipe brings together the generous flavours of Portuguese cooking in a format that works on a busy day. Read through the method before starting and adjust seasoning to your taste.

Ingredient notes & swaps

Use cleaned small mackerel if fresh sardines are unavailable, adjusting the cooking time for thickness.
Use fresh oregano instead of parsley.

The recipe

Air Fryer Lemon Garlic Sardines

10 min prep10 min cook20 min total4 servings

Scale:

Ingredients

Sardines

8 fresh whole sardines, scaled, gutted and butterflied

Seasoning

1½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely grated
1 lemon, zested, then cut into wedges
20 g flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
¾ tsp fine sea salt
¼ tsp black pepper, freshly ground

Method

1
Heat the air fryer to 200°C and pat the prepared sardines thoroughly dry inside and out.
2
Mix the olive oil with the garlic, lemon zest, half the parsley, salt and black pepper.
3
Rub the seasoned oil over the sardines and arrange them in one layer in the air-fryer basket, cooking in batches if needed.
4
Air fry until the skin is crisp and the fish is opaque and safely cooked through, turning once with a thin spatula.
Set a timer: 9 minutes
5
Scatter with the remaining parsley and serve immediately with lemon wedges.

Grilled sardines are deeply associated with Portuguese summer cooking. This recipe borrows the familiar combination of sardines, olive oil, garlic and lemon but uses an air fryer as a modern weeknight adaptation.

Storage

Cool promptly and refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 1 day.

Freezing

Freezing cooked sardines is not recommended because their delicate texture suffers.

Reheating

Reheat briefly in the air fryer until piping hot throughout and only once.

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