A Quick Supper - Sardines in Tomato Sauce on Toast

One of the quick suppers we have here every so often is a tin of Sardines/Pilchards/Sild in Tomato Sauce served on hot buttered toast and then sprinkled liberally with white pepper and vinegar. It has to be plain malt vinegar though.  Basically you serve this straight from the tin (after taking the spine out of each individual fish which are easy to do after splitting each fish in half).  You can eat them in as the spines are soft, but I prefer to take them out and then one of the cats normally is the beneficiary.  So nothing is wasted.  They are then popped onto hot buttered toast.  You do not need to warm them through.  You can flash them under the grill if you wish. That is all there is to it. 

I have tried the oil version and for me it has to be the Tomato Sauce version everytime.  However the fish preserved in oil can prove very useful for other dishes. 

The added bonus is that tinned fish of this sort in the greater scheme of things is not as expensive as some items.  The smaller tins are ideal for two where the larger tins are suitable for a family of four.

This supper is something  that my mum used to dish up when she was in a hurry and wanted us to eat relatively well. It also ensured that we got the Omega 3 fish oils into our systems every so often. 

I like many of my generation were given Cod Liver Oil out of a big brown jar - a tablespoon daily especially in the winter months.  As a tiny tot apparently I used to take this without question but as I got older.  Yuk.  The particular brand we used to have was the Virol brand.  Does anyone else remember this or is it me just relfecting my age?  Fortunately these days we can take Cod Liver oil in capsule form!

This has long been a family favourite and I have been having this quick supper nearly all my life and I turn 61 this May.  My mum did not come across this at home, but at her first job.  Apparently, during tea breaks they used to be able to cook themselves toast etc and one of her work colleagues came up with this, gave her a taste and she was hooked.  Mum would have been 85 this year and I think she was 15 when she first started working.

We normally have bread in the house as do the majority of households, although I appreciate not everyone does.  The sardines/Pilchards or Sild all store ever so easily on the pantry shelf and form part of my "Tinned Pantry".  Occasionally it proves useful to feed the cats as well with this as a treat or to tempt them to eat especially if you mash them down.  Demetri likes the tomato sauce as well.

Good eating does not have to be expensive, just in our book very tasty.

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

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