Marinated Herring
The marinade here is not a sauce but an environment. The herring stands in it overnight, gives up its sharp saltiness and takes back sweetness from the carrot and onion. Frying the tomato paste in oil first is not optional: skip it and a raw tomato edge stays in the dish for good.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Rest
- 12 h
- Total
- 12 h 55 min
- Servings
- 6
- Level
- Easy
- Per serving
- 280 kcal
Ingredients
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What to use instead
Use 400 g of passata instead of tomato paste, but simmer the marinade 10 minutes longer so the extra liquid cooks away.
Makes: 6 servings
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
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Step 1: Fillet the herring
Pull off the skin, open the fish along the backbone and lift out the rib bones with tweezers. Cut the fillets into 2 cm pieces.
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Step 2: Prepare the vegetables
Grate the carrots on the coarse side of the grater and slice the onions into thin half-rings. A fine grater turns the carrot to pulp; we want strands that keep their shape.
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Step 3: Sweat them
Heat the oil and cook the onion and carrot over medium heat for 10 minutes, until soft but not coloured. Browned carrot turns faintly bitter once it sits in the marinade.
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Step 4: Cook out the tomato paste
Add the paste and fry for another 2 minutes, stirring. It darkens and loses its raw acidity — that is the change to watch for.
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Step 5: Simmer the marinade
Pour in the water, add the sugar, bay and both peppers. Simmer gently for 10 minutes, then season with salt.
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Step 6: Add the vinegar
Take the pan off the heat before you pour in the vinegar. Boiled vinegar loses its aroma and leaves only the sharpness behind.
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Step 7: Layer it up
In a glass dish build layers of marinade and fish, finishing with marinade. The herring must be covered completely, with nothing poking through.
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Step 8: Let it stand
Cover and refrigerate for at least 12 hours. The flavours settle in that time and the herring becomes noticeably softer.
Tips & variations
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Tip
If the herring is very salty, soak the fillets in cold water or milk for an hour before you cut them: the salt leaves, the firm texture stays.
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Swap
Use 400 g of passata instead of tomato paste, but simmer the marinade 10 minutes longer so the extra liquid cooks away.
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Tip
Use glass or ceramic. In a metal dish the vinegar picks up a clear metallic taste overnight.
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Storage
Up to 4 days in the fridge, covered. Do not freeze it — the fish falls apart into fibres once thawed.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 6 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 280 kcal | 1,680 kcal |
| Protein | 16 g | 96 g |
| Fat | 18 g | 108 g |
| Carbohydrates | 12 g | 72 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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