Les Halles Centrales in Limoges is a fabulous indoor market — cafes, bars, extraordinary produce, and the kind of place where a 90-minute round trip from the house felt entirely reasonable. I could spend all day there, and sometimes did. For lunch, though, I always ended up at Le Bistrot de Halles on Avenue Adrien Tarrade. Long tables, black and white decor, the menu on a blackboard. You needed to get there early — once the offices turned out at lunchtime it became packed, and rightly so.

It was here, more than twenty years ago, that I first had sardine rillettes. And parked up at the Área de Autocaravanas de Playa Grande in Tapia de Casariego — a charming fishing village on the western Asturian coast, 200 metres from the sea, 4€ a night including services — it seemed the right moment to finally recreate this sardine rillettes recipe.

The sardines came from Real Conservera Española, celebrated for their artisanal canned seafood caught in the Atlantic Ocean near the Galician coast. They cost over 6€ for a small tin. Worth every cent for the memory they were about to recreate.

Issy and Poppy were interested in the sardines. They remained interested throughout, which made the whole process slightly more pressured than it needed to be.

This is done in no time. Fork-mashed, not blitzed — a rillette should have texture and character, not the smoothness of a pâté. Twenty years on, Le Bistrot de Halles would, I hope, approve.

Sardine Rillettes Recipe

Makes one ramekin. Keeps in the fridge for 2–3 days.

Ingredients

• 1 small tin Real Conservera Española sardines in olive oil (approx 100g), drained
• 1–2 tbsp fresh Spanish cheese
• 1 shallot, finely chopped (or red onion soaked in lemon juice for a few minutes)
• 1–2 scallions (spring onions), white and light green parts only, finely sliced
• Small handful fresh parsley, finely chopped
• Good squeeze of lemon or lime juice
• Generous pinch of cayenne
• Knob of butter, softened
• Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Drain the sardines and tip into a bowl. Remove any obvious bones — though with good quality sardines they're soft enough to leave in if you prefer.
2. Add the fresh cheese, shallot, scallions, parsley, lemon juice and cayenne. Mash with a fork until combined but still rough-textured — you want shreds and character, not a paste.
3. Add the butter and work it through with the fork until the mixture is rich and glossy. Taste and season with Maldon sea salt and black pepper.
4. Pack into a ramekin. Cover and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes before serving.

The Flexible Chef Tip: Soak the shallot or red onion in lemon juice for a few minutes before adding — it takes the raw edge off without losing the crunch.

Serving Suggestions

Serve at room temperature with toast, warm bread, or crackers. Cornichons alongside are non-negotiable if you have them — they're what Le Bistrot de Halles would have put on the table. A cold glass of something white wouldn't go amiss either.

This sardine rillettes recipe is also exactly the kind of thing that works in the van. Make it the night before, take a baguette, and you have a proper French picnic on the Asturian coast — or wherever you happen to be parked.

This sardine rillettes recipe is part of my French Recipes collection — confit, braises, fish, gratins and van life French cooking from Casa Adora and the road.
It also features in my Pâté & Rillettes Recipes collection — chicken liver, rillettes, fish pâtés and Spanish no-cook spreads.
It also features in my Campervan Cooking Hub — van life recipes, road food and cooking from Florie on the Iberian Peninsula.
Find more recipes and food adventures here.
Wonky photos, proper food, genuine adventures — The Flexible Chef