Soused Herring Recipe - Great British Chefs

Soused herring with heritage potato, celery salad and bloody Mary sauce

Starter
medium
6
2 hours 30 minutes, plus 3 days marinating time

PT2H30M

Herring has been grossly overfished in its time so is not as widely available as it once was, so make sure you source the fish from a trusted supplier for this soused herring recipe. Emily Watkins' version of this traditional dish is relatively classic, but includes a few creative extras - in particular its Bloody Mary sauce.

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Ingredients

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Metric

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Herrings

6 herring, filleted and trimmed

Brine

500ml of water
90g of table salt

Sous

600ml of white wine vinegar
200g of caster sugar
250g of onion, peeled and sliced
1 bay leaf
10 black peppercorns, crushed
2 allspice berries, crushed
1 sprig of thyme

Dressing

125ml of tomato essence
1 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/4 tsp flaky sea salt
black pepper, freshly ground
7g of horseradish, grated
25ml of rapeseed oil

Salad

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Mix together the water and salt for the brine in a tub big enough to accommodate all of the herring fillets. Submerge the fillets in the brine and leave in the fridge for 3 hours

500ml of water
90g of table salt
6 herring, filleted and trimmed

After 3 hours, wash the fillets in cold, fresh water

Add the vinegar and sugar to a pan and bring to the boil. Place all of the other sous ingredients in a heatproof container and pour the hot liquid over them, then leave to cool completely

600ml of white wine vinegar
200g of caster sugar
250g of onion, peeled and sliced
1 bay leaf
10 black peppercorns, crushed
2 allspice berries, crushed
1 sprig of thyme

Once the liquid has cooled, add the herrings and leave in the fridge for at least 2-3 days. Once ready, remove from the liquor, pat dry and use within 3 days

To make the bloody Mary dressing, mix together all of the ingredients in a bowl and leave to infuse for 2 hours. Once ready to serve, pass through a chinois to remove the pulp

125ml of tomato essence
1 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/4 tsp flaky sea salt
black pepper
7g of horseradish, grated
25ml of rapeseed oil

For the salad, cook the potatoes from a cold salted water start and bring to a gentle simmer. Once the potatoes are just cooked and tender, strain and allow to cool. Once cooked, cut into slices and place in a bowl

500g of pink fir apple potatoes

Use a sharp peeler to remove any tough bits of the outside of the celery sticks. When they are nice and smooth, use the peeler or mandolin to make thin ribbons of celery. Add to the bowl along with the potatoes

4 celery sticks

Peel the tomatoes and remove the seeds. Cut the remaining flesh into a concasse, or medium dice

3 tomatoes

Add to the bowl with the other salad ingredients and season generously with the bloody Mary dressing. Arrange the salad on the plates and top with 2 herring fillets per plate. Serve immediately

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Emily Watkins

Mother of three and previously chef-owner at The Kingham Plough, Oxfordshire, Emily Watkins has a lot on her proverbial plate. But it hasn’t stopped her from becoming one of Britain’s leading chefs.