Oven-Baked Stuffed Atlantic Herring

Ingredients

• 250 g mussels
• 1 onion
• 2 Garlic cloves
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 120 ml dry white wine
• Salt
• Pepper (freshly ground)
• 120 g white bread
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tsp sharp mustard
• 1 Tbsp soft butter
• 1 large tomato
• 2 Atlantic herring fillets (≈180 g each)
• 150 g shrimp (pre-cooked)

Instructions

1. 1.

   Wash and clean the mussels, discarding any that remain closed. Peel and finely dice the onion and garlic. In a hot pot, sauté them in 2 tbsp oil until translucent. Deglaze with white wine. Add the mussels, cover, and simmer for about 5 minutes until they open; discard any still closed. Remove the mussels from the broth, let cool slightly, extract the meat, and chop finely. Strain the broth through a sieve, reserve, and season with salt and pepper.

2. 2.

   Crush the bread in a food processor. Mix it with the egg yolk, the onion bits from the broth, mustard, and butter; season with salt and pepper. Slice the tomato into rounds after trimming the stem area.

3. 3.

   Preheat the oven to 160 °C (320 °F) with both top and bottom heat.

4. 4.

   Rinse the herring fillets, pat dry, and lay one fillet skin-side down on a work surface. Season with salt and pepper, then spread the breadcrumb mixture over it. Arrange mussels and shrimp on top, cover with the second fillet skin-side up. Tie gently with kitchen twine. Place tomato slices in an oiled baking dish, season, and place the stuffed fish on top. Drizzle with remaining oil, season again, pour reserved broth over, then bake for 25–30 minutes.

5. 5.

   Serve hot, garnished with fresh herbs if desired.