Lesvos Grilled Sardines (Σαρδέλες στη Σχάρα)

Lesvos sardeles sti schara are the island's summer grill fish: whole sardines from the North Aegean, salted, slicked with oil, and put over fierce heat until the skin blisters and the flesh stays sweet. Nothing hides them. Lemon, rigani, bread, fingers. The region is the dish's surname, and here the surname is Lesvos, where sardines and ouzo have kept company for generations.

The one method is not a marinade, because there isn't one worth discussing. Dry the fish well and make the grate very hot before they touch it. Sardines are oily and tender; on a lazy fire they stick, tear, and taste boiled, but on real heat the skin seals and releases before the flesh dries. That's the whole trick.

I keep them whole unless they are large, heads on, bellies cleaned only when the fish asks for it. Serve them the minute they leave the grill, with the lemon at the table and bread ready for the oil. This is not food for polishing. It is food for eating while your fingers shine.