Recipe: pearl couscous salad with sardines

With Vis van de Plank, fish expert Bart van Olphen, who recently opened the very first Dutch ‘conserveria’, shows just how versatile, surprising and delicious canned fish can be. Take a tin of sardines, for example: with this recipe, you can make a delicious pearl couscous salad. 

Bart: “With this recipe, we travel to romantic Venice. Inspired by the famous local sarde in saor dish with onions braised in vinegar, pine nuts and raisins, here you use canned sardines instead of fresh ones. Just as delicious and even easier.”

• Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat and fry the onions for 4–5 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the pine nuts and raisins, fry for 1 minute, then deglaze with the vinegar. Add the thyme and let everything simmer over low heat for 15 minutes, stirring regularly.
• At the same time, bring a large pan of water to the boil. Cook the pearl couscous according to the instructions on the package; then drain it in a sieve. Stir the couscous into the onion mixture. Let everything cool to room temperature.
• Fry the flaked almonds in a little oil in a frying pan until nicely golden after 1–2 minutes. Drain on kitchen paper.
• Now stir the spinach and sardines into the pearl couscous and onion mixture. Season to taste with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper, and sprinkle the almonds on top.