Recipe: Pickled herrings with creme fraiche and ... - Sammy & Bella

Firstly, a big thank you to New Idea mag for publishing our delicious Polish Christmas recipes this week! If you haven?t already, make sure you pick up a copy of this week?s New Idea.

Pickled herrings, also known as soused herrings or rollmops, have been a Baltic favourite since 3000 BC.? Poles, Germans, Russians, Scandinavians and of course the vikings have long survived harsh winters on these little fish, which are preserved through curing then marinating in vinegar. The icy cold waters of the Baltic sea make them rich in natural fats, especially omega 3 which is essential for healthy brain function and has important anti cancer properties.

In Poland they are eaten year round, but are especially important on Christmas Eve, when they form an essential part of a 12-dish meal called wigilia. In this special religious meal, the dishes represent each of the 12 apostles and no meat is allowed. Classically we eat:

1. Sledzie: pickled herrings
2. Wedzone ryby: Smoked fish, especially salmon and mackerel. For the families who can afford it, some caviar is also served.
3. Ryba w galarecie: Poached carp in aspic (which we have replaced with a big Aussie bowl of prawns in our family!)
4. Salatka jarzynowa: Root vegetable salad with mayo
5. Ryba po grecku: pan fried fish marinated with tomato and celeriac
6. Grzyby marynowane: pickled wild mushrooms, especially yellow chantarelles and bolettes. In Australia, we pick wild mushrooms every April and pickle them ourselves J
7. Barszcz: Beetroot broth
8. Krokiety: crepes or vol au vent pastries stuffed with wild mushroom duxelle, served alongside the barszcz. Alternatively, uszka, a pasta filled with mushroom can be served inside the broth.
9. Pierogi: dumplings stuffed with cheese and potato, or with sauerkraut
10. Makowiec: a poppyseed brioche roulade cake
11. Sernik: baked cheesecake
12. Piernik: gingerbread cake with plum jam

Traditionally, pickled herrings are served with rye bread (which you can buy at Eastern European and Jewish delis) or potatoes and can be flavoured with onions, bay leaves, red capsicum, mustard, sour cream and dill.

A Polish meal always starts with zakaski, which is a pre-dinner snack not dissimilar to the Italian concept of antipasta. A traditional zakaski platter features herrings, hams, salami, pate, pickled cucumbers, breakfast radish, pickled mushrooms and rye bread ? all of which simply must be washed down with a shot of vodka. Some of our favourite Polish vodkas are Belvedere and Chopin. A special honey infused vodka called krupnik is also common, and we love drinking kompot, a non alcoholic (what?!?!) hot drink made by infusing dried fruits with spices such as cloves and cinnamon. To some Australians, it may seem strange to have shots of vodka before dinner has even started! It?s a very traditional way to say na zdrowie, or cheers, at the beginning of the meal and everyone over 18 simply must have one ? even 90 year old grandmas! With tonnes of food on offer, no one gets drunk off 1 shot.

This is one of our late grandmas ?babcia?s? recipes, and our favourite way to eat herrings. The flavour is quite strong but is mellowed by the sour cream and sweetened with apple, so it?s a great way to introduce the Australian palate to this new and interesting flavour. Let us know what you think!

Ingredients

300g packet or jar of pickled herrings

? granny smith apple

1 eschallot

2 Tbsp dill

4 Tbsp cr?me fraiche

salt and white pepper

rye bread and unsalted butter to serve

?

Method

1. Rinse herrings in cold water then pat dry with a paper towel. Cut into 1cm slices.
2. Finely chop the apple, eschallot and dill, then mix with herrings and cr?me fraiche. Season with salt and white pepper
3. Serve chilled with some generously buttered rye bread.

Source: http://www.sammyandbella.com/?p=1727

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