Creamy Herring Salad

This is a German and Scandinavian smorgasbord staple that turns up at holiday tables across Northern Europe. Pickled or marinated herring layers with sliced tart apple and onion, then bathes in a sour cream and yogurt dressing for several hours until the flavors meld into a balanced sweet-sour-savory bite. Served chilled with rye bread or boiled potatoes, this salad is the perfect anchor for a Christmas Eve or New Year’s spread.

The technique that makes this dish work is the layering rather than mixing. Arranging the herring and apple-onion mixture in distinct layers in a dish, then covering and refrigerating, lets the dressing slowly seep through each layer instead of dispersing immediately. After 5 hours, the herring softens slightly, the apples absorb the cream, and the onions lose their raw bite while retaining a faint crunch.

Kitchen Tips

• Use tart apples like Granny Smith or Honeycrisp. Sweet varieties get overwhelmed by the cream and lose their identity.
• Slice the onion paper-thin. Thick slices stay sharp and overpower the milder herring flavor.
• Use marinated or pickled herring fillets, not fresh. Fresh herring needs separate curing and won’t work in this 5-hour assembly.
• Add the dill just before serving. Fresh dill loses its color and brightness if mixed in early.

Variations

• Add a sliced hard-boiled egg on top for the traditional sillsallad presentation popular in Sweden.
• Stir in a tablespoon of grated horseradish for extra bite.
• Serve over a bed of cooked beets and call it German herring salad with beets, a regional variation popular in northern Germany.