Herring-Apple Salad

What do you usually make for lunch? According to Healthy Tuna.com, 88% of Americans eat tuna, with 83% of those tuna fans having it for lunch. How many eat herring? A measly .0017%! No, I'm kidding, I couldn't find that statistic. But tuna is great, and herring is pretty good, too. I'd say they're my two preferred canned seafoods. This recipe, from What's Cooking America, represents a nice change of pace from your typical canned tuna. It's probably the least time-intensive recipe on the site, but it's pretty delicious and the apple provides it a really nice crunch. It's great with crackers, or on little toast rounds, maybe some petit toasts if you've got those around.



The herring fillets come in a small tin, wrapped in some vaguely colorful (but sort of dull) wrapping. (We'll see if I can locate a Thesaurus later on in the post.) These "seafood snacks"--you can't fault their description, but it's kind of weird that "seafood snacks" is in larger type than the barely-readable "boneless herring fillets"--boast a couple of label-worthy claims. First, they're kippered. If we consult our old pal Wikipedia on the matter, we find out that means the herring have been "split from tail to head, gutted, salted or pickled, and cold smoked." Okay, that sounds like a good idea.

The wrapper also assures us that each serving contains 1.0 omega-3 fatty acids. Those are really good for you, which is why all the cool canned seafoods are always bragging about how many omega-3s they contain. (There's a lot of peer pressure in the canned seafood world.) That Healthy Tuna site is pretty keen on omega-3's, too, as they "can curb or prevent cognitive decline, dementia, depression, neuropsychiatric disorders, asthma and inflammatory disorders." All this, and brain food, too! Not bad.

Oh, and for the first step, remove the wrapper--



--be relieved the can has a little tab and you don't have to try using your can opener on it--



--pop the tab--



--and pull back the top. See? That wasn't so bad! And check out these fillets, they look pretty legit.



Next, empty out the can onto your favorite cutting board, and reserve the juice in a large bowl.



And really mash them up. Just a fork will suffice. You can add some red food coloring at this point if that appeals to your sense of humor.



You're also going to need an apple. I think this was a Pink Lady, any apple variety you like will do.



Dice it up.



Grab a few bread-and-butter slice pickles, or whichever pickle you like best.



Chop those up, too.



Place your herring and apple into a bowl.



Add the relish with relish.



Remember that herring juice? Of course you do! We're all about Chekhov's Gun here at Beach City Cooking.



Then, add 1/6 cup vinegar (preferably white vinegar or red wine vinegar), 1/6 cup EVOO, 1/2 tsp kosher salt, and 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper to the bowl.



Whisk it up.



Add your herring-apple-pickle mixture, and combine well. Enjoy!



Thanks for stopping by Beach City Cooking, and I'll see you all tomorrow for another edition of Windy City Cooking. Have a great night, and stay cool!