Grilled Sardines with Herbs and Lemon

Preparation

• 1
  Wash the sardines thoroughly and pat them dry. For larger sardines, remove the entrails: carefully cut open the belly cavity and pull out the entrails. Be careful not to damage the delicate flesh.
• 2
  Pluck the leaves from the thyme and rosemary and chop them finely. Wash the lemon with hot water, dry it, and finely grate the zest of half a lemon. Mix the chopped herbs with the lemon zest.
• 3
  Carefully thread the sardines onto the wooden skewers and generously sprinkle with the herb-lemon mixture. Let the skewers marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour so that the flavors can infuse well.
• 4
  Just before grilling, drizzle the sardine skewers with a little olive oil.
• 5
  Preheat the grill. Grill the sardines on both sides. Depending on their size, they will need about 1.5 to 2 minutes per side. At the same time, roast the cherry tomatoes and the bread slices drizzled with olive oil on the grill.
• 6
  For the dip, stir the sour cream until smooth with 1 tsp lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Serve the grilled sardines together with the dip, tomatoes, and toasted bread.