Meatless Monday: Polenta with Poached Egg and Tomato Sauce with Butter and Onions

Awhile back, I came across the apparently viral Tomato Sauce with Butter and Onions that had been all over the internet.  I was late to it even then, but it looked so simple and tasty that it went into the remember-to-make-soon brain folder.

I finally got around to it and have to say that I was pleased.  I am a fan of a simple smooth slightly sweet tomato sauce.  This is exactly that.  It satisfies in a soothing way and certainly comes together in a snap. All you need, I kid you not, is canned San Marzano tomatoes, butter and an onion. Period.

In the comments section for the tomato sauce recipe at Smitten Kitchen, there were a few variations including using a poached egg or eating the cooked onion (which gets removed in the recipe) on toast with some balsamic vinegar.  I thought, why not do all of those!?! And, my friends, I did.

I pan-fried some organic polenta (yes, the kind in a tube, but I had to use it up) and topped it with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, some onion, a bit of sauce and a poached egg.  Some fresh parsley or basil would have made a lovely addition, but the beauty of the dish is that all of the aforementioned things are around my kitchen pretty much all the time. 

Polenta with Poached Egg and Tomato Sauce with Butter and Onions

• 2 1-inch slices of prepared polenta (or your preferred serving of polenta from scratch)
• 2 good drizzles of balsamic vinegar
• 3 tbsp Tomato Sauce with Butter and Onions, divided
• 1/4 onion from Tomato Sauce with Butter and Onions
• 1 egg, poached
• 2-3 sprigs fresh basil
• fresh cracked black pepper

1. Pan-fry polenta cakes.
2. Set on plate.  Drizzle with balsamic vinegar.  Top with 2 tbsp tomato sauce and onion. 
3. Place poached egg on onion.  Top with additional 1 tbsp tomato sauce.  Garnish with basil and fresh black pepper to taste.
4. Dig in, yolk first.  Enjoy!