Erik’s Swedish Fried Pickled Herring

Erik coats pairs of Baltic herring fillets in breadcrumbs and fries them in butter. The fish rests with sliced white onion in a sweet-and-sour allspice brine. He serves it with dill stirred into crème fraîche.

Servings: 2

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Ingredients

• 150 ml water for the brine
• 100 ml granulated sugar
• 50 ml Swedish spirit vinegar (12% acidity)
• ¼ tsp salt for the brine
• 4 whole allspice berries
• ½ white onion
• 250 g Baltic herring fillets
• ¼ pot fresh dill for the sauce
• 50 ml breadcrumbs
• ½ tsp salt for the coating, plus extra to taste for the sauce
• 0.5 ml ground pepper for the coating, plus extra to taste for the sauce
• 1 tbsp butter
• about 400 g raw potatoes to serve, preferably Swedish almond potatoes (mandelpotatis)
• crème fraîche for the sauce, to taste

Method

1. Bring the water, sugar, vinegar, brine salt and allspice berries to the boil. Stir until the sugar dissolves, then let the brine cool. Peel and thinly slice the onion.
2. Snip off the dorsal fins. Lay half the fillets skin-side down on a board, then place another fillet directly on top of each one, skin-side up.
3. Mix the breadcrumbs with the coating salt and the pepper. Turn the paired fillets in the crumbs, then fry in the butter for about 3 minutes per side.
4. Layer the hot, freshly fried fish and sliced onion in the cooled brine. Let cool, then refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.
5. While the herring is chilling, boil the potatoes in water until tender, then drain.
6. Chop the dill and stir it into the crème fraîche. Season the sauce with a little salt and pepper to taste. Serve the herring with boiled potatoes and a spoonful of dill sauce, if you like.