Pie with Sardines and Lemon Chermula

Chermula is a sauce and marinade made from herbs that are widespread in Arab countries and in northern Africa. It can be eaten with meat, grilled fish or vegetables. However, it also goes well with sardine pie

Ingredients

• 300 g puff pastry
• fillet of 5 sardines
• 1 large ripe tomato
• 4 tbsp. l. rusks or crackers
• 1 egg for brushing
• 3 lemons
• half a red onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 4 sprigs of parsley
• 4 sprigs of cilantro
• 1 tsp ground paprika
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 4 tbsp. l. olive oil
• salt, freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Prepare chermula: remove the zest from one lemon; from all three, remove the pulp along with the juice. Peel the onion and garlic, chop together with the herbs, mix with the zest, lemon juice and pulp, all the spices and olive oil. Let it brew in a sealed container in a cool place from 1 hour to 24 hours.
2. Roll out the dough in the shape of a 20x25 cm rectangle and place on a baking sheet. Along the perimeter of the rolled dough, make an incision with a sharp knife, stepping back 2.5 cm from the edge. Do not cut through the dough in two opposite corners. You should end up with a picture in a frame.
3. Lightly grease the "frame" on both sides with a beaten egg.
4. Overlap two cut strips of the "frame" one on top of the other, put the resulting structure on a baking sheet and bake at 200 ° C for 15 minutes. When the dough rises and turns golden brown, remove the base of the pie from the oven and brush with the remaining beaten egg while the dough is hot.
5. Cut the tomato in half, then cut into thin slices. sprinkle the base for the pie with ready-made breadcrumbs or crackers ground into small crumbs; lay out half of the chermula. Arrange the sardine fillets in a row, alternating with tomato slices, and top with the remaining sauce. Bake at 200 ° C until the sardines are baked and the cake is golden brown, about 20-25 minutes. Serve warm or cold.