Marinated Herring

How to prepare marinated herring

1. Cut the herring fillets in half lengthwise (to have 8 pieces). Wipe them well with paper towels and then generously sprinkle with salt, black pepper and chili flakes. Drizzle a tablespoon of oil over them and massage to coat everywhere.
2. Heat a non-stick pan well (fish sticks easily to the pan, use your best non-stick pan and if you have doubts you can drizzle a little oil in the pan too). Fry the fillets in batches without crowding them, about 1 minute on the first side (skin side down) and then 30 seconds on the other. The fillets are small, they need to be cooked quickly.
3. As you fry them, transfer the fillets to a container as narrow as possible (so we don't waste oil and vinegar). Between the hot fillets, as you place them in the container, scatter garlic slices, lemon strips (from 1/2 lemon, taken with a vegetable peeler), mint leaves and dill torn by hand (or you can chop them coarsely).
4. Finally add the vinegar and then the oil. These should completely cover the fish. If not enough, gradually add one tablespoon of vinegar and then one of oil until covered.
5. Let marinate in the refrigerator overnight.
7. The next day, take the container out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. The olive oil combined with the fish juices may have become slightly gelatinous, but at room temperature it will return to normal.
8. Carefully remove the fillets onto a platter or wide dish where they can sit in a single layer. Also take some marinade, dill leaves, mint and garlic.
9. Dice the red onion into small cubes. Sprinkle salt over them and let sit for 10 minutes. Add 3 tablespoons lemon juice and let sit another 15 minutes. Add the capers, green onion cut into rounds and finely chopped parsley. Grate the zest from 1/4 lemon. Add 3 tablespoons of fresh oil and mix well.
10. Pour this mixture over the herring fillets. They can be served immediately. Store in the refrigerator.
    It's good just with toasted bread. Or you can make a herring salad by adding it over mixed salad leaves and avocado cubes. Or you can make a potato and herring salad, adding it over boiled potato slices. I've eaten it in all these ways... mmm, I can't wait to marinate another batch!

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