Odessa-Style Chopped Herring Forshmak with Apple

What you need

• 2 whole salted herrings, about 300 g (10 oz) each, or 300 g fillets
• 100 ml (scant 1/2 cup) whole milk
• 1 slice white bread, crust removed
• 1 tart green apple, peeled and cored
• 1 small onion, peeled
• 2 large eggs
• 60 g (4 tbsp) unsalted butter, soft
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar, or to taste
• black pepper, freshly ground, to taste
• salt, to taste, if needed
• dill, a few sprigs, for serving

Method

Restated from the original video

1. 1

   Fillet the herring: remove the heads, skin and backbone, then pick out the small bones with tweezers. Rinse the fillets.

2. 2

   Soak the fillets in cold water for 1 h, changing the water once, to draw out the salt. Skip this for lightly salted herring.

3. 3

   Meanwhile, cover the eggs with cold water, bring to a boil and simmer for 10 min. Cool in cold water, then peel.

4. 4

   Drain the herring and put it in a bowl with the milk. Soak the bread in the same milk for 10 min, then squeeze it out.

5. 5

   Cut the herring, bread, apple, onion and 1 egg into chunks.

6. 6

   Pass everything through a meat grinder, or chop with a sharp knife until very fine. A food processor works if you pulse briefly, since too long makes it a gluey paste.

7. 7

   Beat in the soft butter and the vinegar. Season with pepper. Taste before adding any salt, since herring is already salty.

8. 8

   Pack the mixture into a serving dish, smooth the top and chill for at least 30 min.

9. 9

   Grate or chop the second egg and sprinkle it over the top with dill. Serve cold on rye bread or toast.

Imported from kashevar.com. Recipe Grab pulled out what you need to cook it; the video stays where its author put it.