Dutch Herring Salad

This herring salad is a classic combination of potato, beetroot, carrot, apple and gherkin, with pieces of Dutch new herring and a creamy, lightly tangy sauce. A familiar dish that works perfectly as a starter or as part of a light meal, for example with bread.

Serves: 4
Preparation: approx. 30 minutes
Cooking: approx. 10 minutes
Total time: approx. 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 Dutch new herring fillets, cleaned, boneless and skinless, cut into small pieces
• 4 medium waxy potatoes, boiled and diced
• 2 medium beetroot, boiled and diced
• 1 large carrot, boiled and diced
• 1 medium apple, peeled and diced
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 2 medium gherkins, diced small
• 2 tablespoons capers, drained
• 150 ml sour cream
• 100 ml mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon mustard (e.g. mild or wholegrain mustard)
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 2–3 sprigs fresh dill, finely chopped (plus extra for garnish)
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

• Potatoes Peel the potatoes, rinse them and put them in a pan with cold, lightly salted water. Bring to the boil and cook for 15–20 minutes until tender but still firm. Drain, briefly rinse under cold water and leave to cool completely. Then cut into cubes.
• Beetroot Cut the cooked beetroot into small cubes. If necessary, briefly pat dry with kitchen paper to remove excess moisture.
• Carrot Peel the carrot and cut into small cubes. Bring a pan of water to the boil and cook the carrot cubes for approx. 5 minutes until just tender. Drain, rinse under cold water and let drain well.
• Onion, gherkin and dill Peel the red onion and chop finely. Cut the gherkins into small cubes. Remove the thick stalks from the dill and chop the dill as finely as possible. If necessary, set aside a little dill for garnish.
• Herring Cut the herring fillets into small pieces.
• Apple Peel the apple, remove the core and cut the apple into small cubes. Preferably do this last, just before mixing, to prevent discolouration.

Method

1. Make the sauce In a bowl, mix the sour cream, mayonnaise, mustard and white wine vinegar into a smooth sauce. Stir in the finely chopped dill. Taste and season the sauce lightly with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper, if needed.
2. Mix the salad In a large bowl, combine the diced potato, beetroot, carrot and apple, the chopped red onion, the diced gherkin and the capers. Add the pieces of herring. Gently toss everything together so the pieces stay intact.
3. Add the sauce Add the sauce to the salad and mix gently but thoroughly, until all ingredients are lightly coated with sauce. Taste and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
4. Rest Cover the bowl and leave the herring salad to rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour so the flavours can meld.
5. Serve Just before serving, gently toss the herring salad once more. Divide the salad among plates or serve in a dish. Garnish with a little extra finely chopped dill. Delicious with dark rye bread or a hearty farmhouse loaf.