Shared by Vivian Reiss
Shared by Vivian Reiss
Hungarian Herring Salad
Yield: 8 servingsTime: PT0H25M
Hungarian Herring Salad
Yield: 8 servingsTime: PT0H25MFamily Journey
Budapest, HungaryNew York CityColumbus, Ohio
Palm Beach, FloridaNew York City
For her cocktail parties, Marianne Reiss prepared bowls of this traditional herring salad, “which I still crave and whip up often,” shares her daughter, the artist Vivian Reiss. Marianne took great care when she prepared this salad, peeling the kovászos uborka (Hungarian dill pickles), chopping the peas, carrots and apples in a fine macedoine and mixing the heavy cream, mayonnaise, sour cream, and mustard to get the perfect texture and taste. This salad benefits from sitting for several hours in the fridge to let the flavors meld. Vivian serves this as is, but you can dollop scoops of this herring salad onto crackers or a piece of pumpernickel- it’s delicious either way.
Read more of Vivian Reiss’s family story in “The Joie de Vivre of a Hungarian Cocktail Party” and get her recipes for korozott (Hungarian cheese spread with paprika, anchovies and caraway) and casino tojas (Hungarian deviled eggs).
Ingredients
For the dressing:
- 2 cups sour cream
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt
- 6 tablespoons heavy cream
For the salad:
- Four 16 oz. jars herring in cream sauce (8 herring fillets), sauce drained
- 4 large, whole dill pickles, peeled and finely minced
- 1 large carrot, peeled, boiled, and minced
- 1 cup peeled, minced Honeycrisp apples
- ½ cup small, sweet peas
Preparation
Step 1
Combine the dressing ingredients in a large bowl, whisking until smooth. Fully drain the sauce from the herring, blotting it dry if needed. Chop the herring into small, bite-size chunks, adding to the dressing.
Step 2
Add the minced dill pickles, carrot, apples, and the sweet peas to the bowl with the herring, mixing to fully combine.
Step 3
Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Serve cold.
