Pickled herring open sandwiches, three ways recipe

It’s a very tedious process to make pickled herring, as they have to be salted for months, so I buy mine.

Prep time: 10 minutes, plus 1 hour marinating

SERVES

Four

INGREDIENTS

• 12 slices of rye bread
• Salted butter, for spreading

For the curried herring

• 4 plain pickled herring fillets (available at waitrose.com and sainsburys.co.uk)
• 4 tbsp crème fraîche
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 apple, cut into cubes
• 1 tbsp capers, rinsed and drained
• ½ small red onion, finely sliced
• 1–2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp finely chopped dill

For the spiced herring

• 4 sweet and spicy red pickled herring fillets (available at waitrose.com)
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
• 2 tbsp cress

For the plain herring

• 4 plain pickled herring fillets (available as above)
• 1 shallot, finely sliced
• 2 tbsp finely chopped chives

METHOD

1. To prepare the curried herring, cut the fillets into smaller pieces. Put the crème fraîche in a bowl and mix in the curry powder. Mix the apple with the capers, onion and lemon juice. Season to taste.
2. Add the herrings to the dressing and leave them in the fridge for at least an hour.
3. Place the rye bread slices on a board and spread evenly with butter.
4. Divide the curried herring pieces over four slices of the bread. Decorate with dill.
5. For the spiced herring, cut the fillets into smaller pieces. Place the pieces on four slices of the bread, alternating with slices of egg, and top with cress.
6. For the plain herring, cut the fillets into smaller pieces. Place the pieces on the remaining four slices of bread. Top each one with two to three slices of shallot and sprinkle with the chives.

Recipe from Open Sandwiches by Trine Hahnemann (Quadrille, £12.99). Order a copy from books.telegraph.co.uk