Retro Suppers - sardines on toast
african vanielje on Jan 18 2008 at 5:34 pm | Filed under: 30 second suppers, food blogging event, sandwich
It is impossible to pick one comfort food for winter as there are so many, but I can try to define the parameters of what makes a meal comfort food. To me it has to be quick to prepare because when I want comfort food I want it now and I don’t want to slave over it. It definitely has to have carbs, because in my mind comfort food is always associated with cold weather and I can never have too many layers in winter, even if some of them are biological rather than material. It has to be easy to eat, read spoon it in and slurp it up, or eat it with your fingers. And lastly, it has to make me sigh with contentment after one bite.
Sometimes the sigh is pure sugar / carb rush but sometimes it is more ephemeral comfort: The memory of being tucked up with hot water bottles in front of a log fire, watching Star Trek or MacGyver. Yes I know this dates me, but we were only allowed to watch television for one hour on Friday nights and we made the most of it.
As a general rule we ate at the table, and laying the table was one of our chores. Even breakfast was eaten all together at a fully laid table with cereals, fresh OJ, fruit platters and fresh cooked eggs and toast. But every so often, we got to eat a TV Dinner. The very thought of this made our eyes round with excitement and we instantly snapped into best behaviour mode in case this privilege was rescinded. And I’m not quite sure what other people’s TV Dinners were, but ours were generally things that you could eat with your fingers whilst curled up on the sofa. Hot mugs of thick veg and barley soup, toasted cheese and tomato sandwiches, fresh cucumber, celery and carrot crudites in summer, and on blustery wet nights, tinned sardines on toast.
I think it is one of the very few things my mother ever made from a tin. Of course fresh sardines, straight off the boat were another luxury altogether and merited completely different treatment, but this TV Dinner was all about store cupboard convenience. The toast however, was from homemade bread. Whether or not you have homemade bread or store-bought, it is simplicity itself to toast a few slices, open a tin of sardines and mash them onto the toast with a fork and squeeze a bit of fresh lemon juice on them. This is really all they need, but you could also add some roasted tomatoes or a smear of slow cooked tomato and garlic sauce.
There’s nothing really to add to that, and as comfort food goes, it’s pretty healthy too. Sometimes I am thankful to Winter for reminding me of old favourites and how truly delicious simplicity can be.
This is my entry for Garden of Eating’s Comfort Food Cookoff. I’m not sure if others think it qualifies as it is not drenched in calories. (I can do that too by the way. ) But that’s what I love about food, it’s so subjective.
So tonight, it is a wet and blustery Friday night. I could almost believe that a Cape Storm is rolling in. My husband is picking up a couple of DVD’s on his way home, and we’re settling in for a rare, but comforting night of TV Dinners, retro style.
Sounds good to me. Simple and delicious. This sis the second post Ive ssen on sardines and I really need to stock up.
I’ve got a loaf of semi-fresh bread awaiting at home. I’m not sure I’ve ever had sardines before, perhaps an introduction is in order.
Sounds like comfort food to me. Anything that makes you shut your eyes and drift off to sompler times is comfort food to me!
We love sardines. Your preparation looks delicious!
One of my favorite snacks/lunches! I buy them just for me (mon mari doesn’t think they really qualify as food) I like them in tomato sauce or mustard sauce, with savory biscuits,
eaten while I’m reading food blogs….
What a coincidence, this is just what we had for lunch today - also on homemade bread, which really does make it wonderful comfort food.
I do love sardines on toast - there’s something very basic and homey about them for me too.
I’m wishing I liked sardines..it looks that good
Your photos and story make something so simple look so enticing! I agree, once in a while, a TV dinner is comforting - especially in the cold of winter. I’ll be trying these sardine ditties soon.
I have never like sardines, though I cook with them for my husband who loves them. Your photos are so beautiful though, that they’re even tempting me!
For me comfort food is something that comfort my heart and remember good times, Sardiner are one of them.Sun, beach and sardines. Lovely post and amazing blog
Cheers
When we were kids, my father used to open up a tin of sardines and eat them with crackers (we couldn’t get them fresh where we lived). At first all of us thought they were yucky, but he said we couldn’t say that if we hadn’t tried them. So we tried them and thereafter he could never have a tin all to himself.
I’m a great fan of sardines on toast. I generally use the posh lemon flavoured ones in a tin (Waitrose) but find a dollop of mayo really, really helps!
This is a favorite of my husband’s. It’s funny how the things we remember with the most fondness are the simple ones.
By the way, I love your new home. It looks great!
I also like sardine sandwiches, and if given the choice between fresh or tinned, I prefer tinned. A childhood acquired taste, I imagine.