- 4 herring fillets
- 100 ml rice wine or white wine vinegar
- 25 ml water
- ½ tsp dashi granules (optional)
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 50 g carrot, finely sliced
- 25g shallot, finely sliced
- 2 juniper berries
- 2 black peppercorns
- 1 star anise
- A sprig of thyme
- Small pinch of chilli
- Knob of butter
- 1 tsp capers
- A few springs of chervil
- Salt to taste
Pan fried herring fillets, hot pickled slaw and fried capers
Jack Stein
2nd July 2014
Pan fried herring fillets, hot pickled slaw and fried capers
Pan fried herring fillets, hot pickled slaw and fried capers
Serves 2 as a starter.
Image © Robert Sroga
Ingredients
Method
Salt the flesh side of the herring and leave for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, create the pickling liquid by combining the vinegar, water and dashi granules in a pan and warm gently over a low heat.
Wash the salt off the herring and lay it on a plate, skin side up and pour over the pickling liquid, so that it covers the flesh side but does not completely submerges the fillets. Leave to pickle for 10 minutes, then remove from the pickling liquid and pat dry, reserving the liquid.
Heat the vegetable oil in a pan and fry the capers until crispy, leave to dry on kitchen paper.
For the slaw, cut the carrot and shallot into thin strips and place in a pan with the juniper berries, peppercorns, star anise, thyme, chilli and a good pinch of salt. Pour the reserved pickling liquid over the slaw, bring to the boil and take off the heat.
Take the herring fillets and fry them skin side down on a moderate heat for 1 & ½ - 2 minutes, add a knob of butter to finish.
Once cooked assemble with some of the warm pickled slaw, the fillets of herring, capers and a few sprigs of chervil. Deglaze the pan with some of the pickling liquor, reduce briefly, and use to sauce the plate.
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