flipBaltic Herring on Rye Sourdough Bread
Baltic Herring on Rye Sourdough Bread
Why this dish? In Frombork, on the shores of the Vistula Lagoon, Copernicus ate Baltic fish almost every fast day — and there were many. Salted herring on sour rye bread was the everyday fare of a modest canon.
A desalted herring fillet placed on a thick slice of rye sourdough, topped with raw onion and a drizzle of linseed oil. Simple, nourishing, and compliant with the calendar's prohibitions.
Approach, and do not scorn this humble-looking dish. On fast days, which are very numerous in our chapter of Frombork, I break my rye bread thus, black and sour as is proper, and lay upon it a herring from our lagoon, long desalted in clear water. A little onion, a few drops of linseed oil, and that is enough to sustain a man who spends his nights observing the course of the stars. Believe me: the mind works better when the body is content with little.
- •Salted Baltic herring — 1 per person (fast-day protein)
- •Rye sourdough bread — thick slices (base)
- •Onion — a little (sharp freshness)
- •Linseed oil — a drizzle (fat binder)
Baltic Herring on Rye Sourdough Bread
A desalted herring fillet placed on a thick slice of rye sourdough, topped with raw onion and a drizzle of linseed oil. Simple, nourishing, and compliant with the calendar's prohibitions.
Why this dish? In Frombork, on the shores of the Vistula Lagoon, Copernicus ate Baltic fish almost every fast day — and there were many. Salted herring on sour rye bread was the everyday fare of a modest canon.
Approach, and do not scorn this humble-looking dish. On fast days, which are very numerous in our chapter of Frombork, I break my rye bread thus, black and sour as is proper, and lay upon it a herring from our lagoon, long desalted in clear water. A little onion, a few drops of linseed oil, and that is enough to sustain a man who spends his nights observing the course of the stars. Believe me: the mind works better when the body is content with little.
Ingredients (period version)
- Salted Baltic herring — 1 per person (fast-day protein)
- Rye sourdough bread — thick slices (base)
- Onion — a little (sharp freshness)
- Linseed oil — a drizzle (fat binder)
Ingredients
- Salted herring fillets (or maatjes) — 4 fillets (protein)
- Whole-grain rye sourdough bread — 4 thick slices (base)
- Red or yellow onion — 1 small, thinly sliced (pungency)
- Linseed oil (or rapeseed oil) — 2 tbsp (binder)
- Fresh dill — a few sprigs (Nordic herb (optional))
Method
- If the herring is very salty, soak it for 1-2 hours in cold water (or a little milk), then drain and pat dry.
- Slice the onion as thinly as possible.
- Drizzle or spread the rye bread slices with linseed oil.
- Place the herring fillet on top, sprinkle with onion and dill, serve fresh.
How it was made : Baltic herring, salted in barrels, was the quintessential fast-day fish throughout the Hanseatic North. It was desalted in water before being eaten on rye bread, the dominant cereal of Prussia and Poland, fermented with sourdough for better preservation.
The contemporary twist : Serve as a 'heliocentric smørrebrød': arrange onion rings in orbits around the herring, a silver sun at the center of the plate.
Nicolas Copernicus · Charactorium
