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Pickled herrings are a popular appetiser, especially in Germany and Holland where fresh herrings are preserved in barrels after being salted. Once they’ve been preserved, they are soaked to remove excess salt. These pickled herrings take about 48 hours to soak, three-quarters of an hour to prepare and up to 4 days to pickle. Rollmops can be served with rye bread and butter, as well as onion rings, pickled cucumbers and marinade. This recipe will serve six.

Ingredients for rollmops

You will need the following ingredients: 6 filleted salt herrings, a couple of milk roes, 100 grams of sugar, 500 grams of white vinegar, 3 thinly sliced onions, 35 peppercorns, 25 allspice and 8 bay leaves. You will also need some wooden toothpicks, a jug and a large glass jar.

Preparation

Place the salt herrings and the milk roes in a large container. Cover them with water and soak for 48 hours, changing the water every now and then. Cream the roes with the sugar and then stir in the white vinegar. Strain the mixture into a large jug.

Lay out the herrings skin-side down on your work surface. Place some of the sliced onion rings over the flesh and roll the fillets up. Use toothpicks to secure the rollmops.

Layer the herrings with the onion rings in a glass jar, sprinkling bay leaves, peppercorns and allspice between the layers. Pour the strained vinegar mixture over the contents so that everything is well covered. Cover the jar and refrigerate for three to four days before you serve your pickled herrings.

Alternatively, you can pickle the herring fillets without rolling them. Once pickled, drain them and lay them out in a shallow dish with thinly sliced onion. Cover with cream and chill for an hour and a half before serving.

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