Marinated herring (Russian recipe)

Sometimes you don't fancy anything complicated. All you want is something plain, like a dish of boiled potatoes with a blob of butter and a few slices of marinated herring.

For the marinated herring you will need two fresh herrings, gutted and cleaned.

2 tbsp of sugar

2 tbsp of sea salt

1 tbsp of black peppercorns

1 tbsp of mixed herbs

1 tsp of mustard seeds

5 cloves

Put all the spices in the mortar and crush and grind them with a pestle. When the mix is fine, add salt and sugar, mix well.

Cut the herring into slices.

Put the herring slices and the spice mix into a plastic food bag, close the bag and shake it well, so that the fish is evenly coated. Place on a plate, with another smaller plate going on top of the fish in the bag. You will need to add weight over the top dish and keep it like this for two days in the fridge. When the herring is ready, rinse it well under the running cold water to remove all the spicy bits. Serve with the boiled potatoes. You might add a bit of sliced spring onions or a few onion rings and a dash of the extra virgin sunflower oil.

No comparison to the herring horrors that you usually buy in the delis.