Marriage of eggs and pasta in the morning is made in cooking heaven

I poached two organic eggs from Costco Wholesale in marinara sauce and extra-virgin olive oil with shredded Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese, a little basil pesto and chopped herbs from my garden, and served them for breakfast over leftover organic linguine with sardines.

Editor's note: Eating a heart-healthy diet doesn't mean you have to give up on flavor or comfort foods, such as organic whole-wheat linguine eaten with the yolks of organic eggs, poached in marinara sauce, sunny side up.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

I poached two organic eggs in marinara left over from making organic whole-wheat linguine with sardines the night before, and served them with the pasta for a hearty, rib-sticking breakfast.

Twirling the linguine in the broken yolk and marinara adds layers of sensual flavor.

Since embarking on a heart-healthy diet more than five years ago, organic whole wheat pasta is one of my bread substitutes at breakfast -- good with whole eggs, egg-white omelets, frittatas and other foods.

I used a 10-inch GreenPan, about a cup of marinara and a few ounces of extra-virgin olive oil.

When the mixture started to simmer, I broke two eggs into the pan and added shredded cheese and, later, chopped fresh mint, parsley and oregano from my garden. 

Organic eggs over organic whole-wheat linguine.

Linguine with sardines

I heated up leftovers from 1 pound of linguine I had made for dinner the night before with:

Victoria Marinara Sauce, red wine, extra-virgin olive oil, a can of drained and rinsed anchovies, three cans of Moroccan sardines in tomato sauce, capers and such seasonings as black pepper, ground garlic and red-pepper flakes.

The Luigi Vitelli-brand Organic Whole Wheat Linguine came from ShopRite in Paramus, and many of the other ingredients are from Costco Wholesale in Hackensack.

See more heart-healthy ideas below:

An egg-white omelet stuffed with fresh spinach, smoked wild salmon and reduced-fat cheese, served over leftover organic quinoa prepared in an electric cooker.

For an egg-less breakfast, I heated up leftover whole wheat pappardelle from Jerry's Gourmet and More in Englewood, dressed in Costco's Basil Pesto and pine nuts, and stewed tofu from H Mart in Little Ferry, and served them with fresh spinach sauteed in olive oil.

H Mart in Englewood usually sells fresh wild-caught whole red snapper for $7.99 a pound ($26.37 for three). Here, my wife seasoned the fish, added fresh tomato, okra and onions, closed the aluminum-foil to form a pouch and roasted them for 30 minutes in the oven at 450 degrees.