A very pretty herring recipe from a Tom Douglas chef

Northwest Herring Week — a noble effort to make the delicious, sustainable little fish into a bigger, more widely available deal — is happening right now in Seattle, running through Sunday, June 26. During N.H.W., you can try special herring dishes at favorite Seattle restaurants. But just as importantly, a few risk-taking retailers — including Wild Salmon Seafood Market, Capitol Hill’s Central Co-op and Scandinavian Specialties — are also selling herring, and your dollars spent there act as votes to bring it back to market all the time.

Then you can make this recipe from chef Sam Burkhart of Tom Douglas’ Etta’s (or a herring recipe from another local chef). Burkhart agrees wholeheartedly with the premise of Northwest Herring Week, calling the fish-of-the-week “an underused and undervalued” one that’s good many ways: “grilled, fried, pickled, roasted or made into a spread.

“It’s outside of people’s usual selections of halibut, salmon and tuna,” Burkhart says. “But give it a try — you’ll be happy you did!”

Etta’s Fried Herring with Cherry-Frisee Salad and Mint-Dill Cream

Brine 2 fillets (about 3 ounces each) herring in the following for 2 hours:

—1 c champagne vinegar

—2 c water

—1/2 c sugar

—1/2 c salt

—1 whole lemon cut into rings

Mint-dill cream

—1 c sour cream

—1 c mayonaisse

—5 T mint, finely chopped

—5 T dill, finely chopped

—2 T parsley, finely chopped

—Salt and lemon juice to taste

Mix together.

Cherry and frisee salad

—Baby frisee

—Sliced Rainier cherries

—Red currants

—Pickled mustard seed (or, chef Burkhart says, substitute any pickled vegetable or chopped cornichons)

—Pickled ramps (same as above, substitution-wise)

—Lemon juice, olive oil, salt

Mix a simple vinaigrette of lemon juice, olive oil and a pinch of salt; toss with remaining ingredients.

Herring

—2 herring fillets (about 3 ounces each), marinated (see above)

—Equal parts all-purpose flour and cornstarch for dredging

Dredge fillets in flour/cornstarch mixture to coat. Pan fry (or deep fry) in barely smoking oil until deeply golden brown; remove from pan, put onto a paper towel to drain oil and season with salt. Serve with a smear of mint-dill cream underneath and cherry and frisee salad over the top.