Topiary, a boutique eatery in the Adelaide Foothills, delights in doing things a little bit differently. Much of the menu is gathered from the immediate surroundings of the restaurant, itself a 140 year old cottage with the original French windows and doors.
The dishes are unlike anything you will find in any other restaurant, and that is largely because Kane Pollard, the executive chef and OneFIshTwoFish Ambassador, takes great pleasure in using under-utilised ingredients and turning them into something that can turn people’s heads. He’s been doing just that for the last eleven years, and he has shared his recipe for marinated sardines that will allow you to take something familiar (and perhaps, under-appreciated) and make something truly breathtaking.
Ingredients:
Sardine fillets 500g
White wine vinegar 750mL
Garlic cloves 8ea
Canola oil 400mL
Olive oil 400mL
Parsley 1 bunch
Salt 60g
Chilled water 2L
Method:
1. Mix the salt and chilled water together to form a brine. Cover the sardines with the brine and leave in the fridge overnight
2. Drain the brine off, then cover the sardines with the vinegar so that they are swimming, leave for 1 hour
3. Blitz oils, garlic and chopped parsley to make a marinade
4. Drain sardines, pat dry then layer, pouring a little of the marinade between each layer
5. Cover with the rest of the marinade and allow to steep for a further 8 hours
PS: In case you’re curious, the fish is ‘cooked’ in the vinegaring process. It becomes a pickled fish recipe, and it is delicious!
