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Boiled Fresh or Green Herring

4 servings

Ingredients

• 10 pcs fresh herrings
• salted water (as needed)
• 1 pcs chopped onion
• 1 pcs bay leaf
• 5 pcs peppercorns
• 5 pcs allspice berries
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp flour
• fish stock (as needed)
• butter (for refining) (a little)
• chopped parsley (a little)
• lemon juice (a little)
• 1.5 pcs egg yolks

Instructions

1. For 4 people, 8-12 herrings depending on size.
2. Gut very fresh herrings, remove the gills, and wash thoroughly.
3. Cook salted water with a chopped onion, 1 bay leaf, and 4-5 peppercorns and the same number of allspice berries until the onion is soft.
4. Add the herrings, bring to a boil once, then let them steep over low heat until cooked through.
5. Prepare a light roux from 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of flour, and pour in as much fish stock (without the spices) as needed for the sauce.
6. Refine the clear cooked sauce as desired with a piece of fresh butter and finely chopped parsley, or season with lemon juice and thicken with 1-2 egg yolks.
7. Pour some of the very hot sauce over the arranged fish, and serve the rest separately.

Modernized from a treasured 19th-century German cookbook.