Herring in the fur coat

I don’t remember one holiday celebration without herring in the fur coat. This festive starter salad is made of diced pickled herring mixed with layers of boiled potatoes, carrots and beets. As with many other old favorites, there are dozens of recipes and many strong opinions on using the eggs or not and on the order of the layers. 

Savory, sweet and salty, with a slight crunch of onions and the creaminess of eggs, this salad hits the spot and is definitely worth a try. It’s rich and filling, perfect for a cool day or a special occasion.

I’ve usually been lucky to find pickled herring in German, Russian or Polish stores. Sometimes it’s called matjes herring. 

For the salad

4 medium beets

4 medium potatoes

4 medium carrots

3 eggs, hard boiled and chopped 

8 oz boneless pickled herring, diced 

1 medium onion, diced 

1/2 cup mayonnaise 

1/3-1/2 cup olive oil 

Bring to boil two medium pots of water. Put the unpeeled beets in one pot, cover, bring back to boil and simmer for 45-50 minutes, until tender when pierced with a fork.

Meanwhile, put the unpeeled carrots and potatoes in the second pot, bring to boil, cover and simmer for 20 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Drain and let cool. When the beets are soft, drain, cover with cold water from the tap and let stand for 10 minutes to cool. This will help them peel easier. (The vegetables can be also prepared a day in advance and stored in the fridge.)

Peel the vegetables. Cut the potatoes into medium dice and cut the carrots into small dice. Grate the beets on a coarse grater and keep all separate. 

Take a jar with a lid and shake the mayonnaise with the olive oil until combined. 

Take a big dish or a transparent bowl and layer half of the ingredients in this order spreading with a thin layer of mayonnaise:

herring – onions – potatoes – mayonnaise – eggs – mayonnaise – carrots – mayonnaise – beets – mayonnaise.

Then repeat again all the layers starting with the herring. Reserve several tablespoons of the mayonnaise for serving. The order of the layers is very important! 

I prefer to make the salad in a transparent bowl to see the layers. If you are using a flat dish, shape the salad into a mound.

Let cool in the fridge for a couple of hours. Spread a thin layer of mayonnaise on top of the beets before serving. 

Serves 6-8 as a starter.