Sardines on Toast with Marinated Onions

Bev and I have this weird habit of cooking at the wee hours of the morning. Granted, it does affect our waking up the next morning, but something still drives us to do it regardless.

Tonight, we were shuffling for space again in our "compact" kitchen. Bev was baking her chocolate cake (again, for the 4th time in 2 weeks!), and I was just trying to make a snack for myself as I was suffering a late night attack of the munchies.



Sardines-on-toast and I go way back. My dad used to bring me to the golf club every weekend when I was 7. There he'd slip me his membership card so I could order any food or drink to keep myself busy the entire afternoon while he'd muck around with his mates. Somehow, I'd always end up ordering either grilled cheese sandwiches or sardines on toast, the clubhouse's specialties back in the day, and then wolf them down with a tall chocolate milkshake alongside. Ah, those innocent days.

Tonight, I decided to revisit those moments by making myself something similar using some leftover baguette I had from my previous post (parsnip soup with mushroom toasts), and a can of sardines in oil from the pantry.

I topped the toasts with raw onions, just like they did at the clubhouse, but me being me, I just HAD to be meddlesome and mess with it a bit more. So, I cut one white onion into nice, thin rings and marinated them with 1 tsp of finely grated lemon rind (I rely heavily on my trusty old Microplane grater), 1/2 tsp of grated raw garlic, 3 tbsps of extra virgin olive oil, 2 tbsps of lemon juice, and salt and pepper. I also added some sliced red chilies for an extra 'bite'. The lemon adds acidity and zestiness while the onion adds some pungency and crunch, and the chilles add the much appreciated heat.

Mmm, the taste of my childhood.

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