Fakebait (sustainable alternative to whitebait)!

I miss eating whitebait (seeing as it's just about the least sustainable seafood dish on the planet).
So here's my solution: FakeBait! Strips of sardines  coated in seasoned flour (plain flour, polenta, cayenne, smoked paprika, salt and pepper), shallow fried and served on top of spaghetti in tomato sauce, squeeze of lemon over it.
Allow one good size herring per person. Once filleted, open flat and pop the backbone out. The smaller bones you just crunch.
Season the flour according to taste - sardines have a robust flavour, so feel free to be generous with the cayenne pepper and smoked paprika. I use salt with dried seaweed in it for extra essence of ocean.
You could also serve with tartare sauce, a salsa verde, or oven dried tomatoes and a bit of salad. And possibly some dry West country cider.

Samphire salsa verde

This is a great accompaniment to fish. Try it with grilled Cornish sardines!

Handful of fresh samphire
A few cornichons or pickled gherkins
Tablespoon of chopped mint or lemon mint
Tablespoon of chopped fresh parsley
Plenty of freshly ground black pepper
A few capers
A big dash of cider vinegar, or white wine vinegar
A couple of lugs of olive oil

Either chop everything by hand or use a mixer. Check for seasoning - there's no need to add salt, as the samphire is really salty. If you're using ordinary mint, you might want a squeeze of lemon juice. Make it a couple of hours before you need it and let the flavours mingle in the fridge.

Cornish-style sardines with salsa verdi

This is a Cornwall-inspired recipe, ideal for the end of summer. Makes a great light supper (or without the spuds, a nice starter). The cider vinegar in the salsa helps with the Cornish feel of it!

Serves two

Four sardines, filleted and split
Two medium size baking potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges
Half a red onion, finely chopped
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
Olive oil
Lemon wedges to serve

For the salsa verdi:
2 tbs cornichons, chopped
1 tbs capers, chopped
2 tbs flat leaf parsley, chopped
Half a red onion, finely chopped
1 tbs cider vinegar
1 tbs olive oil
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Parboil the potatoes for ten minutes or until tender. Drain and leave to cool a little. Place them on a baking tray with the onion, seasoning and oil. Toss together so the potatoes are coated with the seasonings and roast in a pre-heated oven (200C) for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Meanwhile, mix all the salsa ingredients together in a bowl. Adjust the quantities to taste.
Grill the split sardines for a couple of minutes each side, and arrange on warmed plates with the potatoes and a big spoonful of the salsa. Serve with a lemon wedge and the rest of the salsa to hand.

Goes well with a glass of chilled Cornish cider, on a late summer's evening.