Wish Willy’s Recipe of the Week
Pan–Fried Spicy Sardines

Forget all the brouhaha generated by Taste Belize last weekend. The dishes this critic sampled didn’t make it to “mundane” level on the finely tuned Steinhauer Taste Meter. Ho hum. Though the mosquitoes were out in full force and the queues went on forever. My respects to those hearty souls that could handle being eaten alive by hordes of voracious mosquitoes while waiting in hour-long lines for small portions of uninspired cooking; that’s tenacity.

The culinary concoctions that the genius chef Wish Willy creates are head and shoulders above anything I noshed on at Taste Belize. If ya want exceptional “vitils” and don’t mind a funky environment then Wish Willy’s Place on Caye Caulker near the Split, on the lee side of the island is the place to dine.

Pan – Fried Spicy Sardines
10g or ¼ oz fresh parsley
3-4 garlic cloves, crushed
10-12 sardines prepared
2 tbsp lemon juice
50g or 2 oz ½ cup plain flour
2.5 ml or 4 tbsp vegetable oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper black. Serve with Naan bread and green salad

Method 1. Finely chop the parsley and mix in a small bowl with garlic.
2. Put the parsley and garlic mixture all over the outside and inside of the sardines. Sprinkle them with the lemon juice and set aside, cover in a cool place for about 2 hours to absorb the flavors.
3. Place the flour in a large plate and season with cumin, salt and pepper. Roll the sardines in flour. Taking care to coat each fish thoroughly.
4. Heat other oil in a large frying pan and fry the fish in batches for 5 minutes on each sides until crisp. Keep warm in the oven while covering the remaining fish and then serve with Naan bread and salad.

You're killing me. Had some fantastic chow
at WW's when we were there last year.