Ingredients
Check off ingredients as you go
Serves 4 (as a starter)
- 5-6 large potatoes
- 4 fillets mild pickled herring (matjes)
- 1 red onion (or 2 shallots)
- 6-8 sprigs fresh chives, finely chopped
- 1/4 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
For the vinaigrette
- 1 level Tbsp strong Dijon mustard
- 2 Tbsp cider or wine vinegar
- 4 Tbsp fairly neutral oil (I like a blended vegetable oil)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- Salt, pepper
Slice the red onion fairly thinly, cut the herring into strips and then in half again to get squares, and put them in a salad bowl. Make the vinaigrette: in a bowl, combine the mustard with the vinegar, salt and pepper, then pour in the oils while whisking. Pour the vinaigrette into the salad bowl with the onion and herring. Finely chop the parsley and chives and add them. Mix everything well.
In a saucepan, cook the potatoes in lightly salted water (I score the potatoes lightly, which makes them very easy to peel after cooking). Cook for about 20 minutes (a knife should slide out easily).
When the potatoes are cooked, peel them without burning yourself, cut them into rounds or cubes and add them to the salad bowl. Mix everything well so the potatoes soak up the dressing (you may need to add a little more oil at this point, as some potatoes “drink” a lot of vinaigrette). Season with pepper.
Serve warm or cold, with pickles on the side.
Tips and variations
- Herring is sometimes quite salty, so it’s best to rinse it and pat it dry gently. Taste the whole salad to adjust the salt.
- This salad is also delicious with strips of smoked salmon instead of, or mixed with, the herring (once again, in that case, watch the salt).