Tinned sardines are among the best-value things in any shop — properly good fish, already cooked, and one of the few genuine sources of omega-3 you can keep in a cupboard for years.
The flatbread takes four minutes and turns this from a snack into a meal.
The bread: 200 g flour, a good pinch of salt, and about 120 ml of water — add it gradually, you want a dough that is soft but not sticky. Knead for a minute, which is enough. Divide in four, rest for ten minutes if you have it, then roll or press each piece as thin as you can manage.
Cook them in a dry pan over a decent heat, about 90 seconds a side. They should blister and take dark spots. If they are going pale and leathery the pan is not hot enough.
Assembly is barely a recipe: flatbread, sardines broken up with a fork across it, chilli flakes, a squeeze of lemon juice, and the pickled cabbage alongside rather than on top so it keeps its crunch. A thread of olive oil over everything.
The oil from the sardine tin is worth using rather than pouring away — it is full of flavour and it is the same fish.
Serves 2, on one burner, with nothing needing refrigeration.