Sardines with Fregula Sarda Salad

The weather cannot quite decide,  if its being hot or cold but this was a dish for one of the warmer evenings.  I bought a very large bag of fregula sarda a Sardinian cous cous .Larger than the more common morrocan cous cous, which until a few years ago I thought was a grain . Cous Cous is made by  rubbing wet semolina wheat into little balls which are dried then toasted. I have been looking for this pasta for a while and I was delighted to find a massive bag for sale at the Continental Market which is being held on Fridays in Lower Marsh Market

Fregula sarda is lovely in soup like pearl barley or another small pasta orzo  but I wanted to try it in a summery salad , it needs boiling rather than soaking like normal cous cous a few minutes in a pan of salted water. You can then add a a range of delicious ingredients .

Grilled Sardines

1. Slash the sardines , season with salt and pepper and brush with a little oil
2. Grill for a few minutes either side under a hot grill or on the BBQ
3. Serve with a squeeze of lemon

Fregula Sarda Salad

200g of Fregula Sarda ( Italian Cous Cous)
1 tbsp of preseved lemon finely chopped
1 medium avocado , chopped into 1cm peices
100g of broad beans removed from the pods
3 tbsp of sundried tomatoes , finely chopped
1 handful of fresh parsley roughly chopped
Twist of pepper
1 tbsp of olive oil

1. Simmer the fregula sarda in a pan of salted boiling water for 5 minutes.
2. Steam the broad beans over the top of the water once cooked peel the broad beans.
3. Once the fregola is cooked rinse it in cold water and peel the broad beans
4. Mix in the preserved lemon , tomatoes , broad beans , parsley
5. Season with pepper and a slosh of olive oil.