.
For a few weeks every summer, it just bakes here in Marin; I make a few pitchers of herbed lemonade — three or four meyers, a handful of herbs (mostly mint), a big squirt of agave, filtered water, and plenty of ice, all into the Vitaprep, then strained — maybe make a cheese plate and a salad, and declare victory. The thought of going near the stove is anathema.
Yesterday was one of those days. I had a small tub of pickled herring, picked up at Berkeley Bowl, that I was looking forward to munching on, and a beautiful bunch of radishes. Together they went into a bowl, along with a splash of olive oil, plenty of coarsely ground peppercorns (a medley of black tellicherry, green, and pink), and some tangerine salt. That’s it. But the medley is magical. I think adding anything else would just confuse it.
I’m not sure why this isn’t a canonical combination, because it really ought to be. Snappy fresh biting radishes, mellowed slightly by the piquant, sweet-sour fish and the pickled onions they come packed with, all moistened by the fruity green grassy olive oil and brought alive by the citrus salt. With a glass of gewurtz from Navarro, Daphne dancing in her bouncy contraption, and some cherished friends, it’s hard to imagine a better afternoon.
Herring is a massively underappreciated fish; it’s under the radar of most fish counters because it’s not set up on display, you have to search for it or ask for it. And I think many Americans have an aversion to much fish in general, and processed fish in particular. That tub cost I think about $2.50, and fed four people. It’s one of those items that should live permanently in the refrigerator, next to the olives. It makes a fine, fine dinner when you just don’t have the energy to cook.
Any other herring fans out there?
As a child I used to love the pickled herring favored by my Jewish grandfather. At this point I've been a vegetarian for almost 20yrs. There are no veggie items remotely like it.
I love this idea!
Coupled with wonderful brown bread and sweet butter, cant think of anything more summery and refreshing…and easy……great idea, Eric…..thanks for reminding us of the beauty in simple summer eating!
Robert Wemischner, The Dessert Architect
I've always wondered why herring is so difficult to source. But given how the much maligned-sardine is the 'it' fish of the moment, maybe Americans will get a bit more adventurous and try herring. I adore thinly sliced radishes with home-cured sardines, so I'll have to try it with pickled herring.
On a separate note, my favorite herb guy has been bringing purple shiso to the Ferry Plaza farmers' market and I've been eating as much of it as I can. (Woe be the city dweller who can't get shiso to grow in the fogbelt.) In one of your posts on shiso you mentioned that it's magical with plums and olive oil. Is it ever!
Karena, but don't you find the purple shiso to be slightly tough, at least compared to the green? Seems like it requires more chews than the green (which doesn't stop me from eating it; but I must say that I prefer it as a flavor and color ingredient.
Possible improvement to plums, shiso, and olive oil: Hodo's custard tofu on the bottom of all that!
Yes, I have found that the purple requires more chews than the green. (Sounds like we're discussing psychotropic drugs.)
Adding the plum-shiso-olive oil mix to a pillow of Hodo custard tofu sounds divine. It's a Breakaway version of fruit on the bottom yogurt!
When I lived in Germany one of my favorite summer items was herring in sour cream with apples, which was available right out of a plastic tub for less than two euros. Seems to me Vita sells that in the States, and of course you can always add your own apples.
But yeah, herring's great stuff. Just on a buttered hotdog-bun-like piece of bread on a warm afternoon in Holland. Weirdly, a number of my German friends said they'd never eat sushi because the idea of raw fish freaked them out. "Oh yeah? What's Matjes, then?" I'd say. Oops.
I'd get a matjes twice a day everyday when I was in Amsterdam. Heaven food. WTF is up with the German paranoia of raw fish? I've seen it too!
I just made my own pickled herring last week – my supermarket has been having smoked herring filets for $5 a lb and I decided they'd probably work just fine to pickle – the texture is unappealing to eat as-is. really easy – soak in milk for a day, then mix up a vinegar-sugar brine with some spices. I think the smoked flavor adds a lot. I've been eating them with cream cheese on bread and bagels, but am going to have to try it as a radish salad. (or maybe mild spring turnips? I've got some of those!)
From Judy Zeidler:
Grandma's Chopped Herring – Judy Zeidler
1 pound schmaltz herring fillets or 1 jar (1 pound) pickled herring fillets in wine sauce
2 slices challah or egg bread
1 medium onion, cut into quarters
1 green apple, peeled, cored, and sliced
2 hard-boiled eggs
4 teaspoons vinegar
2 or 3 tablespoons safflower or vegetable oil
Soak the herring in cold water overnight. Drain well. Bone and skin the herring and cut it into pieces. Soak the challah in cold water for a few minutes and squeeze out the water.
Place the herring, challah, onion, and apple in a food grinder and grind. Chop the hard-boiled egg whites and combine with 3 teaspoons of the vinegar. Mix the whites into the herring mixture. Spread the chopped herring on a platter. Mash the egg yolks with the remaining 1 teaspoon vinegar and spread over the top of the chopped herring.
Cover with plastic wrap and chill. Just before serving, pour 2 or 3 tablespoons of the oil over the top. Serve with toasted bagels.
(Note: I omit the egg, vinegar, oil and soaking, using only Lasco wine herring, and a few short pulses in a food processor does the trick. Heaven!
A smoked flavor might be the only way to improve the original — wonderful idea, pekmez.
I’m having a hard time viewing this information from my iPhone. Maybe you could upgrade the site and make it more accessible from my phone. Thatd be real cool!