This stuffed herring recipe is quick and easy to prepare and cook. The delicious filling has a distinctive Welsh theme with Caerphilly cheese and leeks.
About Herrings
Herrings are an oily silver fish popular not just for their good eating but also for their numerous healthy attributes, being rich in protein, vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids. Whole herrings can be poached, fried or grilled, or pickled, soused, marinated, salted and smoked (such as our Crouch End kippers from our smokehouse behind the shop).
These oily fish are available year round and were once a staple part of the British diet. So plentiful and popular were herring at one time off the East Coast of Scotland that whole communities grew up and thrived around the herring fishing industry. In Scotland herring are known as “the silver darlings”.They are extremely popular in Nordic countries too and in Norway they are called, even more lovingly, “the gold of the sea”.
Herring is a considered to be resilient species and a good choice for sustainable eating. The fish are caught using fishing methods that are relatively selective or ‘clean’ in terms of by-catch and damage to the seabed.
Preparation time will be about 5 minutes allow a further 20 minutes cooking time. Ingredient quantities will serve four people.
Ingredients For Stuffed Herring
4 x herrings, cleaned and heads removed
55g butter
1 leek sliced
55g breadcrumbs
55g shelled walnut pieces, roughly chopped
140g Caerphilly cheese, crumbled
1 tbsp English mustard
juice and zest of 1 lemon
3 tbsp fresh mixed herbs such as chives, parsley, rosemary
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Cooking Method For Stuffed Herring
Preheat the oven to 220C, 425F, Gas Mark 7
Melt half the butter in a saucepan, add the leek and cook for about 5 minutes, until softened, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, mix together the breadcrumbs, walnuts, cheese, mustard, lemon zest, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and mixed herbs. Add the leek and mix together well.
Place the herring onto a baking sheet. Open the herring and spoon the stuffing into each fish. Sprinkle each fish with sea salt.
Bake the fish for 15–20 minutes and serve with potatoes.
