Diary Recipes

My mother’s herring on rye

My mother invented this dish. It can be served as a cold main dish or as an entrée using small portions.

Herring on rye:
Slices of sweet, dark rye or pumpernickel bread
Marinated herring (about one fillet for each slice of bread)
Thin slices of sweet apple (about one medium Red Delicious for each 6 slices of bread)
Sliced banana (about one medium banana for 2 slices of bread)
Sliced hard-boiled egg (about one egg for each 2 slices of bread)

Sauce:
I am not going to give exact measurements for the sauce, as I never make it the same way twice:
Mayonnaise (about 1 1/2 tbs for each slice of bread, more if youre a sauce fancier)
Honey
Mild or medium hot curry powder mix*
Cream (optional, see instructions)

Mix together mayonnaise and honey until well blended. The result should have a mild taste of honey. Add curry powder to taste. (If you need a recipe to follow, use one for gravlax sauce, leave out the mustard and replace the dill with curry powder). If sauce is thick, add some cream or whole milk until it becomes slightly runny.

Arrange the herring, apple, banana and egg slices on the slices of rye bread and top with the sauce.
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*I generally abhor the use of ready-made curry powder, preferring to mix the spices separately into the stew at the right moment in the cooking process. This is an exception.