Forshmak from herring is a dish that goes back to Jewish cuisine. Although the name of this appetizer is of German origin. If you translate the word "foreshmak" into Russian, you get the romantic word "anticipation."
I must say that today there are many different options for cooking this delicious snack. To vary the taste, some culinary experts add some additional ingredients to the paste, and the way the dish is served varies. One thing remains unchanged, for the preparation of delicious forshmak you need slightly salted herring of good quality and onions.
Consider the classic herring mincemeat recipe . In addition to the required components (herring and onion), it also includes an apple, a boiled egg and white bread. Let's talk a little about the quality of the products that will be used to prepare the forshmak.
First of all, you need to choose a good herring, moderately fat and not salted. Herring should be cut into fillet without skin, trying to remove all the bones. If the herring is nevertheless brackish, then it should be soaked in milk and left for several hours. Soaking time depends on the degree of salinity of the fish.
Onion for a dish of forshmak from herring is better to take salad varieties. The apple should be found acidic, ideally, the Antonovka variety. Cooking proportions: for two herrings - one onion and one medium-sized apple. Onions and apples before cooking, of course, need to be peeled. Boil the eggs, separate the proteins. Soak white bread with cut crusts in milk. Two eggs and two ordinary pieces of loaf or rolls will go to our quantity of products.
It is easiest to cook mincemeat with a meat grinder or in a blender. Grind herring fillet, onion, apple, egg whites and bread well-wrung from milk. Carefully knead the resulting mass and knock out. In the process of mixing, the dish can be seasoned to taste with salt, pepper, mustard and any other spices. You can serve a ready-made mincemeat from herring on toasts or simply by putting the paste on a plate. For decoration, you can use the remaining egg yolks, rubbing them on a grater, and greens.
A more festive version of the dish can be prepared by expanding the list of ingredients. To the products listed in the first recipe, you should add one small boiled carrot, a couple of processed cheeses and 100 grams of butter, which must first be kept at room temperature to soften.
The mincemeat is prepared in the same way, only the oil is not passed through the meat grinder, but added to the products during grinding. How to serve herring mince from a festive table? Of course, you can spread it on toasts, but you can come up with a more beautiful option. For example, use ready-made or baked tartlets of small diameter. Another option is to make choux pastry and bake small round buns from it. Custard dough products are hollow inside, so you will need to cut off the lid from the cooled buns and fill them with ready-made mincemeat, you will get snack eclairs. You can decorate such a delicious snack with red caviar and greens.
But a real forshmak from herring can be tasted, of course, only in Odessa. There are special recipes for making this old appetizer. For example, many Odessa hostesses add eggplant baked in the oven (or, as they are called “blue” in Odessa) to the paste mass and baked bell pepper. Moreover, vegetables and herring fillet here are never twisted in a blender or in a meat grinder, and chopped finely and finely with a knife. A must-have ingredient is a variety of spicy greens, which is added just before serving to the table.
As you can see, there are many options. Therefore, do not be afraid of experiments, try different combinations of products and, in the end, you will get the most delicious and fragrant mincemeat, which will surely become your signature dish