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Pete's Food Blog
8. Nov, 2021
Fennel oil preserved herrings
Ingredients:
250g herring fillets
3 carrots
3 shallots
1 whole fennel bulb
2 garlic cloves
5 dl sunflower-, canola-, or rapeseed oil
1 lemon
1 tsp dried chervil
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp black pepper corns
1 tsp white pepper corns
1 tsp fennel seeds
2 star anise
6 stems of fresh dill, finely chopped
2 tsp salt
Method:
Preheat the oven to 250°C
Peel and finely slice the carrots, shallots, garlic and fennel. Use 30ml of the oil to fry the vegetables along with the dried spices (not salt). Add the juice of the lemon to the pan along with the rest of the oil. Keep the oil and veg. mixture down to 80°C for 15 mins. The aim is to infuse the oil, not to fry the vegetables. Remove from the heat and stir in the dill.
Oil the inside of a shallow, ovenware dish (approx 30cm x 25 cm).
Lay the herrings, skin-side up, such that they do not come into contact with each other. Bake for 5 minutes.
Take a 1 litre preserving jar and layer a single row of herings, followed by the fennel oil/veg. and repeat until the preserving jar is full and the herrings totally covered.
Once the oil has cooled, fit an air-tight lid and store in the fridge for 24hrs. before serving. The herrings will keep at least 5 days.