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herring

Herring with Onion and Potatoes

This dish is perfect for gatherings with friends or a last-minute meal when you’re too tired to cook. Starchy, crumbly potatoes make the perfect foil for the oily, salty herring. The perfect accompaniments – indeed, the only acceptable ones – are dense black bread and ice-cold vodka. 
Course Main Course
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 4 to 5 potatoes cut into quarters
  • Salt
  • 1 mildly salted Atlantic herring gutted, with its head removed
  • 1 onion sliced into rings or half-rings
  • 1 to 2 tbsps vegetable oil
  • 1 tbsp vinegar
  • 2 to 4 tbsp butter
  • Handful dill finely chopped

Instructions
 

  • Add potatoes and salt to a pot of water and set on stove to boil until ready, about 20 minutes. 
  • Cut the herring into 1 ½-inch thick steaks and arrange them on an oval plate. Spread the onion on top, then pour vegetable oil and vinegar over it.
  • Meanwhile potatoes should be fully cooked. Drain the water, add butter and dill to the pot with potatoes and mix.
  • Plate individual portions of potatoes and serve herring for each person to add to their plate as desired. 

Notes

Potatoes can be cooked unpeeled; put one with a pat of butter and pinch of dill on each plate.