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<\/a>\nSince I like herring and on-site decisions are anathema to me, I bought one of each kind from Seko, a Polish brand, to be sampled across a few days.<\/p>\n
Finally got a satisfying lunch out of the expedition.<\/p>\n That bit of garnish in the middle was the kicker though: baby coriander seed fresh out of the garden that played perfectly with the Eastern European themed fish. I had never even seen it IRL, let alone worked with it, but it looked pretty and tasted just right in this context.<\/p>\n But don\u2019t ask me how I came by it. That\u2019s a story for another day. And thereby hangs a tail. Read on…. Continue reading <\/a>
\nThe first one I opened was Koreczki \u015aledziowe po Meksyka\u0144sku<\/em> (lower right in the first photo), Herring Corks Mexican Style, because it was the most intriguing. Ossssstry smak<\/em> means ssssspicy taste (although the chili pepper on the label would have afforded sufficient giveaway) and it featured marinated onions, also depicted on the label.<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nI unrolled two of the \u201ccorks\u201d to give you an idea of the product. In all cases, the filets were very yielding and a little fishy \u2013 which is to say that they\u2019re not the sweet Vita herring filets in wine sauce that you might know from the refrigerator aisle in the supermarket. (Note that sugar is the fourth ingredient on the label but you couldn\u2019t prove it by me.) The oil was slightly spicy; the onions weren\u2019t especially sharp but they did provide a welcome foil to the modest heat, not to mention the overall texture. Okay, but not my fave.<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nNext up was \u015aledzik na Okr\u0105g\u0142o po My\u015bliwsku<\/em> (moving counterclockwise, upper right) translated as Round \u2018n\u2019 Round Herring with Onion and Mushroom Stuffing (okr\u0105g\u0142o<\/em> means round, my\u015bliwsku<\/em> means hunter style, which I gather implies mushrooms and tomato). <\/p>\n<\/a>
\nAfter one taste, I quickly realized that all of these herrings would essentially be the same but with a dollop of different stuff in each container and I\u2019d better get creative with them if I didn\u2019t want to bore you or myself. So I gave a nod to presentation in this round. The onion and mushroom \u201cstuffing\u201d is the clump in the middle.<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nAll right, so presentation alone wasn\u2019t going to cut it. I had to do something to the fish itself. I opened the \u015aledzik na Okr\u0105g\u0142o w Oleju Wiejskim<\/em> (upper left) translated as Round \u2018n\u2019 Round Herring with Countryside Oil \u2013 another shot of onion in this one along with some red bell pepper.<\/p>\n<\/a>I chopped the herring, incorporated the adjunct vegetables plus dill weed, dill seed, celery and scallion, and spread it over a bed of lettuce on rye toast. So Act Three had no serious presentation, but I succeeded in doing something tasty with the herring filets rather than letting them speak for themselves (a good strategy in retrospect since they didn\u2019t have much to say).<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nFinally, Herring Corks in oil, Koreczki \u015aledziowe w Oleju<\/em> (lower left). I decided to pull out all the stops (corks?) with this one and go for flavor as well as presentation.<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nUnsurprisingly, the unadorned herring was like its mates, so I blended mustard, horseradish, and onion plus capers and scallion for the flavor component, and plated it with Swedish crisp bread and Danish butter, along with thinly sliced cucumber.<\/p>\n
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