New Season Potatoes With Marinated Herring And Onions
Posted: Antti May 6th, 2006 in categories Finland, Recipes, Seafood
For many people asparagus season is the culinary high point of spring, but I couldn’t care less. But come the new season potatoes, and you got my undivided attention!
The spring is very late in Finland, so we have to wait still for domestic new season potatoes, which naturally are the best in the world (that means second to none, Pille) ;) Luckily countries such as Israel, Morocco and Cyprus provide us with very early potatoes. However, those are much larger and not nearly as sweet as their tiny, almost skinless Finnish cousins. To cook a domestic new season potato, it’s enough to rinse them under a running water, and the skin will fall of with a slightest rub of a hand.
Yesterday I got a big craving for new season potatoes with marinated herring, so I had to settle for Moroccoan imports. I could have bought Finnish, but at €35/kg ($20/lb) didn’t think so…
New season potatoes taste absolutely fantastic with nothing but some butter with them, but add some marinated herring and onions, and you’ve got a meal fit for kings. I especially like herrings made by a Swedish company Abba – The band ABBA actually asked their permission to use the same name. Abba Seafood was founded in 1838, ABBA the band in 1972 :) Abba has a large selection of herring in different marinades, by favorite being a French Onion marinade. IKEA sells some Abba herring products and other Swedish delicasies in all of their stores worldwide.
New Season Potatoes With Marinated Herring
serves two
1 jar of Abba marinated herrings
1/2 kg (1 lb) new season potatoes
2 shallot onions
pickles (cucumber)
butter
fresh dillBoil the potatoes. Slice the onions and the pickles. Serve the potatoes with fresh butter on top and herrings straight from the jar. Garnish with some fresh dill.
In the picture above I also had some wild mushroom salad.
15 Responses to “New Season Potatoes With Marinated Herring And Onions”
- Pingback on Jun 27th, 2006 at 13:39
- Pingback on Dec 17th, 2006 at 01:00
- Pingback on Mar 8th, 2009 at 18:39
Ok, Antti – I really hate marinated & salted herring, whether Abba brand or not (a staple at home – I leave the kitchen the moment my mum starts cleaning them and refuse to come back until she’s covered them in sour cream and put away in the fridge!), and there is a missing ‘second’ in the beginning of your second paragraph;) But I love the plating of your meal, and I really crave some new season potatoes now!! Mmmm – and the wild mushroom salad, obviously..
Pille – I hear you loud and clear – herring fillets that need cleaning are totally gross and disgusting! Every xmas mom makes a huge batch of rosolli (herring salad with beets, onion, pickles, apple, carrots and whipped cream), and I almost vomit when I see the salted, whole herring fillets. I couldn’t imagine a xmas meal without the rosolli however, and the finished product is super, super good.
Just to reassure the other, unprejudiced readers: Abba marinated herrings are super good, 100% boneless bite-sized pieces, and can be eaten straight from the jar!
BTW, I got your point, and added the missing ‘second’ =)
$20/lb potatoes – YIKES! Some time you need to do a post on how a proper Finn properly eats a proper Finnish potato!
Cheeky, Antti, very cheeky! That’s NOT what I meant, obviously. Let me just say that Finland is very, very close to a place where the best potatoes in the world are grown;-)
Oh my goodness…that photo is beyond beautiful! I am in awe…
As for marninated herring, well, I don’t think I’ve ever had it (though, I fondly remember my grandfather consuming it by the jar-ful) but I am inspired now!
Wau! Sulla on silm??! Tutut antimet voi laittaa nuinkin esille! =)
Oh! What I wouldn’t give to have some of those “world’s best” potatoes! You are making me miss my short stay in Finland…that photo is going to make me cry. I love marinated or raw herring, especially with onions…I hope I can find some good ones here, maybe in one of the better delis…cross your fingers for me please!
Hei!
Haastan siut meemiin,
jossa pohditaan bloggaajien ulkon?k??! =D
Ehditk?s sellaisen haasteen ottaa vastaan? =)
Ohjeet tuolla:
http://hallatar.vuodatus.net/blog/169871?postcomment=yes#bottom
hi antti, gorgeous photo! how i miss the taste of soused herring – sadly, because my other half dislikes the taste of herring, plus good herring is virtually impossibly to come by here in singapore, i really can’t remember the last time i ate this…thanks for the memory revival and lovely recipe
Alanna: Finally the domestic potatoes are available again, and the price has dropped to 1-2 euro/kg :)
Pille: I have absolutely no idea what you mean o:)
Rachael: Good to see you again :) And I’m relieved to see you have started cooking again albeit your new job – I hope the same happens to me too, soon!
Hallatar: Kiitoksia :) Meemin joudun ik?v? kyll? j?tt?m??n v?liin kun aikaa ei tahdo riitt?? edes kommentteihin vastaamiseen :| Mutta kyll? taikinapoika viel? ponnistaa uudelleen nousuun, ihan varmasti :D
Joey: My fingers are crossed for you =) I hope you find the herrings… Definitely try IKEA first, they sell all kinds of Scandinavian food-goodness in their stores.
J: Thanks! Sadly, I’d give up herrings for good if I could have the yummy dishes on daily basis you can enjoy in Singapore :)
I would love to find a good recipe for making marinate herring–the kind that is found for sale in jars in Finland–out of ordinary, fresh herring.
All of the recipes I find on line are the more Americanized versions of pickled herring, which is not nearly as tasty as the wonderful kinds you can buy in every grocery store in Finland.
I know that the process is not difficult, but I think it’s all in knowing the correct proportions of vinegar to sugar, as well as thy type of vinegar and the spices used.
I would greatly appreciate any help you might have in bringing a bit if Finland into my kitchen.
Regards, Don Cannon
Hi Don,
Take a look at my recent posting about making pickled herrings: http://www.taikinapoika.com/2006/12/17/glass-master“?s-herring-pickled-herring-with-spices/
Albeit I used pre-canned herrings, you can very well use fresh ones as the pickling liquid is suitable for fresh herrings also.