Has anyone else ever had canned sardines in tomato sauce? Growing up in a Vietnamese household, I was more than well aware that our family ate things most American kids never even heard of, let alone dare to taste. Such was the case with sardines in tomato sauce. There was always reliably a can around my house to provide a last minute meal; my mom would toss in some sliced onions and fresh herbs to amp up the flavor and my brother and I would generously spread the tomato drenched fishies atop warm slices of French bread. As per usual, we’d dig in with wide eyes and empty stomachs and never tell a soul for fear of being ridiculed by the white kids. I had always assumed my mom got the goodies an the Asian grocery store until literally about a month ago when I was craving some sardines and lamenting to my mom how my local Asian grocery store didn’t carry it. It turns out, she’d been buying them at the regular American grocery store all these years! Which brings me to my original question – has anyone ever had sardines in tomato sauce? If so, why aren’t we talking about it?! Why have I been left in the dark all these years thinking we were the only people who ate it probably out of happenstance (my dad had a hilarious habit of buying the wrong groceries all the time)?
Well never fear, I’m here to ensure everyone has at least heard of sardines and tomato sauce and has the opportunity to experience its awesomeness. My ace in the whole? Putting some eggs on it. It might be a cheap ploy, but don’t tell me you’ve ever become disinterested in a dish after hearing it has a delicious, runny egg on it. I realized that by throwing eggs into the mix, I ended up crafting up another underrated tomato dish – eggs in purgatory. A brunchtime favorite, this dish features eggs baked in simmering tomato sauce served on crispy bread. As you can see, not a far leap from my beloved sardines in tomato sauce atop toast.
I started by sauteing onions and garlic in olive oil in a large cast iron pan and adding in my canned sardines and tomato sauce. Depending on the can you get, you will most likely need add some additional tomato sauce to your sardines, at least enough to create a nice tomato bath for your eggs. I also like to add in some Thai basil for freshness and Sriracha for some heat (does this make it eggs in hell?). Instead of baking the eggs as with traditional eggs in purgatory, I prefer to let them simmer on the stovetop (covered of course, as bubbling tomato sauce can make quite a mess) so I can more closely monitor the doneness of the eggs. For me, nothing hits the spot like a perfectly medium egg. Once your eggs have cooked to your ideal consistency, you’re ready to dig in with a warm baguette. Trust me, it’ll be your new guilty pleasure that you’ve never even heard of.
