flipSalted Herring with Peas for Fast Days
Salted Herring with Peas for Fast Days
Why this dish? The Church mandated fish on Fridays, Lent, and vigils—nearly half the year. Salted herring, preserved in barrels, then filled Irish tables of all ranks, including Alice's, as every lady was careful to observe abstinence days.
Desalted herring, gently poached, served on a split-pea purée bound with butter and sharpened with mustard—a classic fast-day dish, salty, briny, and nourishing.
When Friday comes, no meat in my house: whoever breaks the abstinence offends the Church, and God knows I am watched enough. So draw the herring from the brine barrel, soak it in fresh water to remove the excess salt, and lay it on the well-buttered pea purée. Faith, with a dab of strong mustard, here is a lean dish that no one at my table will complain about.
- •Salted herring in brine — two per guest (preserved fish)
- •Split peas — a full bowl (nourishing garnish)
- •Onion — one (aromatic)
- •Butter — a knob (binding)
- •Mustard — as much as needed (pungent condiment)
Salted Herring with Peas for Fast Days
Desalted herring, gently poached, served on a split-pea purée bound with butter and sharpened with mustard—a classic fast-day dish, salty, briny, and nourishing.
Why this dish? The Church mandated fish on Fridays, Lent, and vigils—nearly half the year. Salted herring, preserved in barrels, then filled Irish tables of all ranks, including Alice's, as every lady was careful to observe abstinence days.
When Friday comes, no meat in my house: whoever breaks the abstinence offends the Church, and God knows I am watched enough. So draw the herring from the brine barrel, soak it in fresh water to remove the excess salt, and lay it on the well-buttered pea purée. Faith, with a dab of strong mustard, here is a lean dish that no one at my table will complain about.
Ingredients (period version)
- Salted herring in brine — two per guest (preserved fish)
- Split peas — a full bowl (nourishing garnish)
- Onion — one (aromatic)
- Butter — a knob (binding)
- Mustard — as much as needed (pungent condiment)
Ingredients
- Salted herring fillets (or demi-sel) — 4 (fish)
- Split peas — 250 g (garnish)
- Onion — 1 (aromatic)
- Butter — 30 g (binding)
- Strong mustard — 1 tbsp (condiment)
- Bay leaf — 1 (aromatic)
Method
- Desalt herrings by soaking in cold water for 1-2 hours, changing water.
- Cook split peas with onion and bay leaf in unsalted water for ~45 minutes until soft enough to mash.
- Mash peas into a purée, bind with butter; taste before adding salt (herring already provides salt).
- Poach desalted herrings in simmering water for 5 minutes, drain.
- Plate herring on pea purée, serve mustard on the side.
How it was made : Before refrigeration, barrel-salting was THE method for preserving fish caught in quantity. Smoked or salted herring traveled far and fed all of Europe on the countless fast days of the Christian calendar; dried peas and beans were its usual accompaniment.
The contemporary twist : Serve in a shallow bowl: smooth pea purée, herring glazed with a little oil, and a dollop of grainy mustard, like a deconstructed tartine.
Alice Kyteler · Charactorium
