NURI Sardines in spicy tomato sauce. Whole sardines in tomato with piri-piri, gherkin, and bay leaf in a can – tomatoey and spicy at the same time.
NURI Sardines in spicy tomato sauce are whole Portuguese sardines, steam-cooked and placed by hand into a sauce made of tomato paste and olive oil, accompanied by a piri-piri chili, gherkin, carrot, clove, pepper, and bay leaf – 125g can with 90g of fish. No sugar, no chili extract, no added flavoring: the heat comes from the chili pod that is included in the can.
NURI sardines in spicy tomato sauce are the intersection of the two most popular varieties: the tomato of the family-sized can and the heat of the spicy oil sardine, all in one can. If you are wavering between the two, choose this one. For us, the spicy tomato sardine is the variety that is ordered more frequently than the mild tomato can, because the spice gives the tomato what it lacks on its own.
First tomato, then chili, then fish
The sauce is thick, dark red, and tastes first of cooked-down tomato – sweet and acidic like in the mild tomato can. Then comes the piri-piri: a small, fruity chili that warms the back of the throat rather than burning. Clove and bay leaf give the sauce a spicy depth reminiscent of a slowly simmered tomato sauce; gherkin and carrot are included in the can as pickled vegetables.
The fish underneath is the same as in all NURI cans: whole sardines, headless, with skin and soft bones, firm and juicy. In tomato sauce, the fish flavor is milder than in oil, and the spice takes off a bit more of the edge – for many, this is the most accessible variety in the range, despite being labeled as spicy.
For those who want it really spicy, the tomato can is not suitable – the tomato buffers the chili, and the sardines in extra-spicy olive oil are the better choice. And those who want just tomato should take the sardines in tomato sauce.
On toast, with rice, in pasta – the can as a ready-made sauce
The spicy tomato can is the variety where the can itself is the meal. On toasted bread, crushed with a fork, it is a breakfast or a late-night dinner. On white bread with butter and a basil leaf, it's a snack with wine.
Heated, it becomes a pasta sauce: put the can in a pan, warm it with a little olive oil, break up the sardines, add spaghetti and parsley – one can is enough for two. With rice, peas, and a fried egg, it’s a lunch from the pantry; on baked potatoes with yogurt, it’s a dinner that cools the heat. In a shakshuka, the spicy tomato sardines replace both sauce and spices: eggs in the pan, add the can, put the lid on.
Do not cook, just warm through – otherwise the sardines will fall apart and the sauce will become thin. You can eat the chili pod from the can or set it aside for those who prefer it milder.
Our tip: Stir a spoonful of sour cream or cream cheese into the can – the acidity and fat take the edge off the heat and turn the contents into a spread that even the cautious eaters at the table will enjoy.
Tomato and piri-piri from Matosinhos, made by hand since 1920
NURI is produced by Pinhais & C.ª in Matosinhos, the fishing port of Porto, 500 meters from the Atlantic. The factory has been working with the same process since 1920: only fresh fish, placed in brine, hand-arranged on racks, steam-cooked, and then individually placed by hand into the can. For the spicy tomato variety, the chili pod, gherkin, carrot, bay leaf, and clove are added by hand before the tomato sauce is poured in.
Piri-piri is the chili that Portugal brought back from its former colonies in Africa, and it is found everywhere in Portuguese cuisine – in chicken, in the oil on the table, in the sardine can. The combination of tomato and piri-piri was therefore an everyday staple in Matosinhos long before anyone thought about export. Finally, this can is also wrapped by hand in paper featuring a design from the 1930s.
The cans come to Germany via the importer Maritime Zeitkapseln from Hanau. Along with the three other classics, the spicy tomato sardine is included in the sardine gift – 4-pack box.
The can for the indecisive and for the pantry
The spicy tomato sardine is the can we recommend to customers who are wavering between tomato and spicy – it has both and saves you from having to choose. It is the perfect can for the pantry because it creates a hot meal all on its own: add pasta or rice, and it's done. And like all NURI cans, it keeps in the cupboard for years, remaining just as it is.
As a gift, it is the can for people who like to eat spicy food but find oil sardines too heavy – the tomato makes them lighter, and the chili makes them interesting. Those who want more after the first can will find all varieties on our NURI page.
It is not suitable for children who avoid chili, nor for salads with oil-based dressings, in which the sauce gets lost. For that, there is the mild tomato can and the oil sardines.
Whole sardines in spicy tomato sauce from Matosinhos – tomato and piri-piri in one can, for everyone who wants both.
