Sardines with muscadet wine

Sardines in a marinade of Muscadet white wine, lemon and spices. The marinade also includes gherkin and carrot. Its fresh, mineral notes from the wine and acidity from the gherkin and lemon is a great foil for the quality sardines. The sardines are caught in the Bay of Biscay, and canned fresh. as close as possible to Quiberon, in Brittany where the cannery is based.

The recipe is oil-free, a light snack that can be enjoyed on its own, in a salad or with some crusty bread.

La belle-iloise was founded in the fishing port of Quiberon in 1932 by Georges Hilliet, when he was 22 years old. Quiberon was one of France’s key sardine canning hubs, with 14 canneries located there.

Hilliet was a firm believer in quality, artisanal production from the outset and resisted the emergence of mass retailing in the 60s, keeping faith with his own production values. He vowed he’d sooner sell his sardines from a basket on the beach than compromise on quality. The company was eventually re-named la belle-iloise, a tribute to the people of Belle-Ile - the island opposite Quiberon where the sardines are caught.

Today Hilliet’s granddaughter Caroline Hilliet Le Branchu helms the company, continuing her grandfather’s ethos of quality, sustainable production and tinned fish that melds traditional recipes with innovative flair.