🐟 Matjes Herring with Cream Sauce
Matjes herring are young, mild-cured herring fillets with a soft, buttery texture. In this classic northern European preparation they are served in a cool cream sauce with sliced onion and tart apple, alongside boiled potatoes. The result is briny, creamy and refreshing, often eaten as a summer lunch.
Diets
Allergens
Contains (in a typical recipe):
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 matjes herring fillets (about 400 g)
- 200 ml cream
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 tart apple, diced
- 600 g small potatoes
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- 1 tsp sugar
- Dill and pepper
Method
- Boil the potatoes in salted water until tender, about 20 minutes.
- Soak the herring in cold water for 15 minutes if very salty, then pat dry and cut into pieces.
- Mix cream, vinegar, sugar and pepper; stir in onion and apple.
- Fold in the herring and let stand 10 minutes.
- Serve with the potatoes and dill.
How to make it lighter
- Use a lighter cream or thin the sauce with a little water and vinegar.
- Increase the apple and onion so less sauce is needed.
- Keep potatoes to about 150 g per plate.
History
Matjes, from the Dutch 'maatjes', are young herring caught before spawning and lightly cured; the tradition is strongly associated with the Netherlands and northern Germany. Herring with cream, apple and onion is a familiar dish in northern Germany today.
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →