Tinned-sardine rillettes with chilli and olives recipe

If you need an alternative to anchoïade, this is it. It’s oily and rich and tastes like the south of France; lovely on bits of toasted baguette instead of making a complicated starter. It’s also perfect – spread on good toasted bread and served with radishes and cucumber or roasted cherry tomatoes – for lunch. I use Parmentier canned sardines. If you can’t get hold of sardines canned with chilli, add 1 small red chilli, deseeded and chopped, with the olives.

Prep time: 15 minutes

MAKES

300g

INGREDIENTS

• 1 x 135g can sardines in olive oil
• 1 x 135g can sardines in chilli and olive oil (If you can’t get hold of sardines canned with chilli, add 1 small red chilli, deseeded and chopped, with the olives)
• 40g butter, softened
• 1 garlic clove, grated to a purée
• 35g black olives, finely chopped
• 1½ tbsp finely chopped parsley
• Leaves from 3 sprigs of thyme
• Squeeze of lemon juice

METHOD

1. Drain the sardines but keep the oil from the sardines with chilli.
2. Mash the sardines with the butter and garlic until you have a rough purée. Add the olives, and mix everything together with a fork, adding enough of the oil from the tin of sardines with chilli to achieve the thickness you want (remember it’s going to be spread on toast). Fork in the herbs and add lemon juice to taste. Put into a jar – or a plastic tub that has a lid – and keep in the fridge.