Vegetable salad gets a festive twist with herring

I enjoy preparing dishes that allow me to use up leftovers in the fridge. The traditional vegetable salad offers some flexibility in terms of ingredients. If I don't have onions, I add leeks. Instead of peas, I can use sweetcorn. At one point, I decided to use the fillets that didn’t get used up for Christmas.

A bland vegetable salad can disappoint even the biggest fans of vegetables. A common mistake is overcooking vegetables. They don't need to, and shouldn't, fall apart. Additionally, they should be cooked with their skins on. This helps retain more flavour. Wash carrots, potatoes, and parsnip roots under running water, put them in a pot, cover with water, and cook for about half an hour. Then let them cool and peel them.

This version of vegetable salad is perfect as a Christmas dish or an appetiser for the following holiday days. Add four chopped pieces of salted, but soaked, herring to the classic version with cooked vegetables. If it hasn’t been soaked, immerse it in cold water for at least an hour.

The fish will not only enhance the salad's flavour but also add valuable nutrients. Few know that this type of marine fish is much healthier than salmon or tuna. In small herrings, which are caught at around the age of two, there is not enough time for heavy metals to accumulate as happens with larger oceanic fish. A small amount of mercury, yet rich in protein and healthy omega-3 fatty acids, provides strong arguments for opting for this fish as often as possible.

Besides the cooked vegetables, you also need hard-boiled eggs for the salad. To make them perfect, cover them with cold water and cook for 6 minutes from the moment of boiling.

Ingredients:

• 4 potatoes,
• 3 carrots,
• 2 parsnips,
• 4 herring fillets,
• 4 hard-boiled eggs,
• 4 pickled or preserved cucumbers,
• 1 apple,
• 1 onion,
• 1 can of canned peas,
• 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise,
• 1 tablespoon of mustard,
• salt, pepper to taste.

Instructions:

1. Dice the cooked and peeled vegetables.
2. Add diced herring fillets, eggs, cucumbers, apple, and onion.
3. Drain the peas and transfer them to the bowl with the other ingredients.
4. Mix the salad with 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise and a tablespoon of mustard.
5. Season with salt and pepper to your liking. Be careful with the amount of salt – you might not need it this time because the taste of the salty fillets might be enough.