Fried herring (stekt sill)

When I was a schoolboy in Trelleborg - Sweden's southernmost city - we had a tradition in the family to eat fried herring for lunch on Saturdays. My mother bought the herrings in the Main Square. Fishmongers had simple stalls in the square where the fish was laid on ice. Since then fried herring has been one of my absolute favourite dishes.

Last Saturday we bought herring in the square in Lund (Mårtenstorget). Nowadays fish are not sold from simple open stalls, but from a large “fish truck” equipped as a real fish market.

Herring was already gutted.

After I had dried herring fillets with kitchen towels I breaded them in flour mixed with salt and pepper.

I fried the breaded herring fillets on both sides in a frying pan. They must be fried sharply so that they get a little crispy.

You can eat fried herring in two ways.

Either you eat it right away when it is fried. You can also put the fried fillets in a bowl and add a pickle (vinegar 12%, water, salt and sugar) to the fried herring fillets. Shreds of onion are added between the herring fillets.

Before serving the fried herring fillets will draw in the pickle for a while. They become even better if allowed to draw some day, but it's perfectly OK to eat them a while after roasting.

Fried herring fits in well with boiled potatoes. Some prefer mashed potatoes. I will be happy with some ketchup. Others would rather have lingonberry jam.