Odesa cuisine
Forshmak from Odesa
A salty Danube herring is undoubtedly one of the favorite products of all that is often present on our table. But before the herring gets into the house, you need to buy it and buy the right one.
The correct herring is a male! Even if you do not eat milt. The males are fatter and more delicious. Herring should be well salted. This can be checked by making a small cut on the back, thus making sure that there is no blood inside. Besides, the skin of the herring should be whole and without stains. Proper fish has an elastic carcass.
Ingredients
1 large Danube herring;
1 sour apple («Renet Simirenko» variety);
a half of a two-days old white loaf of bread;
2 tbsp. of milk;
half of the 82,5 % butter pack;
1 small onion bulb;
1 lemon.
Process
- An easy way to cut herring into fillets. Using a sharp, thin knife, make shallow cuts on the back of the fish and near the head of the not yet gutted Danube herring. Remove the skin starting from the head. After that, cut off the head. Then take the herring by the tail with both hands and tear it apart like a sheet of paper. If everything is done correctly, you will have two halves of it. In this case, all bones remain on the dorsal part. Remove backs from the spine and the abdominal part free from the insides and small bones (if there are any). As a result, you will easily get four strips of fillets from one fish. But this method of cleaning is suitable only for cooking dishes from the chopped herring.
- Now we can start cooking. Chop the herring fillet with a knife. Cut the crust around the white loaf of bread, pour with milk and squeeze it. Peal onions and rinse under running water. Peel sour apple from seeds. Grate apple and onion on a small grater. Add the softened butter, bread and herring fillets. Now you can add salt and pepper to taste. Do not forget to add a drop of lemon juice or vinegar to taste.
- Mix well. Serve forshmak with croutons and lemon or, as an option, in the form of ready-made sandwiches. For this, slices of Borodino (rye) bread are lightly poured with olive oil, generously put forshmak on it and a piece of herring above. This sandwich is good with a glass of iced vodka.
