Soused sardines with red cabbage and seaweed salad cream

Method

1. To souse the sardines, heat a non-stick frying pan and add a drizzle of rapeseed oil. When hot, add the fish skin-side down and fry until golden and cooked through (large fish for 2-3 minutes, small ones for 1-2 minutes). Do this in 2 batches if necessary – don’t overcrowd the pan. Transfer the sardines, skin-side up, to a glass or ceramic dish large enough to hold them side by side submerged in the sousing liquid. Scatter the red onion and red cabbage over the sardines.
2. Heat the red wine vinegar, sugar, tarragon and 100ml water in a pan until the sugar has dissolved, then bring it to a simmer. Pour over the fish/veg, cover with cling film directly touching the veg to keep everything submerged, then leave for 30 minutes at room temperature. (If serving the next day, leave to cool, then chill.)
3. For the salad cream, whisk the egg yolks, mustard, sugar and lemon juice for 1 minute in a mixing bowl using a balloon whisk/electric mixer. Trickle in the rapeseed oil, whisking until it’s all incorporated. Slowly whisk in the double cream, season with salt to taste, then stir in the seaweed. It should be the consistency of thin mayonnaise.
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4. Carefully lift the sardines from the liquid and put onto plates. Drain and discard the liquid from the veg. Season to taste and divide the veg equally among the plates. Serve the salad cream on the side.