Hot Pickled Herring with Dill Pickle and Egg Potato Salad

I finally found someone to fillet herrings for me! There's a nice man on Borough Market who does it and so I bought three. He filleted them right there in front of me! I thought I'd do something interesting with them so I went for pickling which preserved the flavour and went perfectly with the potato salad.

Hot Pickled Herring with Dill Pickle and Egg Potato Salad
(from Lavender and Lovage)
(Serves 4)

For the potato salad

450g new potatoes, halved if large

dill, finely chopped

parsley, finely chopped

chives, finely chopped

1/2 red onion (peeled and cut into very thin rings)

6 large dill pickles, sliced or diced

2 eggs, hard boiled, and cut into quarters

3 tablespoons mustard mayonnaise

1 tbsp dill pickle juice

salt and white pepper

 

For the herrings

4 herring fillets

150ml dry white wine

150ml water

2 tbsp white wine vinegar

juice of 1 lemon (lemon then cut into wedges)

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 red onion, peeled and sliced into rings

2 bay leaves

1/2 tsp peppercorns

1/2 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp salt

 

First make the potato salad. Boil the potatoes for about 10-12 mins until soft. Drain the potatoes and leave to cool.

Mix the mayonnaise with the dill pickle juice and then stir in the chopped herbs.

 

Next pickle the herrings. Place all of the ingredients except the herrings into a saucepan with a tight fitting lid, bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. 

 

Turn the heat down low and then add the herring fillets, put the lid on the saucepan and simmer gently over a low heat for 8 to 10 mins. Then turn the heat off and allow the herrings to sit in the pan for 2 to 4 mins. Drain the fish.

When ready to serve, spoon some of the potato salad onto each plate and place the eggs and onion rings on top. Top with the fish.