Smoked Herring for Lean Days
Salted and smoked herring, desalted and then served softened with a little wine and onion, with bread. A frank, salty, and iodized taste, typical of medieval Lenten cuisine based on preservation.
Salted and smoked herring, desalted and then served softened with a little wine and onion, with bread. A frank, salty, and iodized taste, typical of medieval Lenten cuisine based on preservation.
On lean days, no meat: that is the Church's rule, and queen or not, I follow it like everyone. So we turn to herring, this fish that is salted and smoked so it lasts through winter without spoiling. It is harsh on the palate, I admit: so I have it soaked to remove excess salt, then softened with a little wine and onion. With good bread, it sustains a man — and reminds us that fasting too has its pleasures.
- •Smoked herrings (salted and smoked) — a few pieces (preserved fish)
- •Onions — two (softener)
- •Wine or verjuice — a little (marinade)
- •Wheat bread — as desired (accompaniment)
Smoked Herring for Lean Days
Salted and smoked herring, desalted and then served softened with a little wine and onion, with bread. A frank, salty, and iodized taste, typical of medieval Lenten cuisine based on preservation.
Why this dish? On fasting days — Fridays and Lent — meat was forbidden, even for the queen. Salted and smoked fish, such as smoked herring, made it possible to endure these long lean weeks far from the coast: a preserved food found even on the royal table and in abbeys near the court, like Saint-Denis.
On lean days, no meat: that is the Church's rule, and queen or not, I follow it like everyone. So we turn to herring, this fish that is salted and smoked so it lasts through winter without spoiling. It is harsh on the palate, I admit: so I have it soaked to remove excess salt, then softened with a little wine and onion. With good bread, it sustains a man — and reminds us that fasting too has its pleasures.
Ingredients (period version)
- Smoked herrings (salted and smoked) — a few pieces (preserved fish)
- Onions — two (softener)
- Wine or verjuice — a little (marinade)
- Wheat bread — as desired (accompaniment)
Ingredients
- Smoked herring fillets (kippered) — 4 fillets (preserved fish)
- Milk (for desalting, optional) — enough to cover (softening)
- Onion — 1 large, thinly sliced (softener)
- White wine or verjuice — 5 cl (marinade)
- Oil (walnut or olive) — 2 tbsp (binding)
- Country bread — as desired (accompaniment)
Method
- Soak the herring fillets in milk (or water) for 1-2 hours to desalt, then drain and pat dry.
- Finely slice the onion.
- Arrange the herrings in a shallow dish, cover with sliced onion, drizzle with wine (or verjuice) and a dash of oil.
- Marinate in the fridge for at least 3 hours, ideally overnight.
- Serve cold with good bread, as a lean day meal.
How it was made : Salting and smoking herring, perfected from the early Middle Ages, made this fish the quintessential Lenten food throughout Northern Europe, transported in barrels far from the coasts. The Church imposed nearly 150 lean days per year: fish preservation was therefore a major economic necessity, and herring fed both the poor and royal tables.
The contemporary twist : Serve it "abbey-style tartine" on grilled rye bread, with marinated onion and a veil of walnut oil.
Sources : Le Ménagier de Paris (1393) · Bruno Laurioux, Manger au Moyen Âge, Hachette, 2002 · Massimo Montanari, La faim et l'abondance. Histoire de l'alimentation en Europe, Seuil, 1995
Adela of Champagne · Charactorium