recipe for canned smoked herring? (got it at trader joe's)

[saffron_rice]

Years ago, I tried herring in Amsterdam and loved the way they eat it there, on the end of a toothpick with pickles and onions, kindof like sushi.

Nostalgically, I recently bought a few cans of smoked herring at Trader Joes but seem to be at a loss for how to eat it. I opened one can but felt unclear:
_ Am I supposed to remove all the spine and bones and the skin? When I do this, the meat flakes apart and disintegrates.
_ Are there any good herring recipes out there?

[bad nono]

you don't remove anything. You peel some fingerling potatoes, you boil them in water, while they do just mince one red onion, some flat parsley, make a vinaigrette (not with balsamic vinegar), when your potatoes are cooked through, toss everything together and you have a fantastic potato salad as we do in the North of France. You can add some cooked haricots verts pour la santé.

You can also puree your herrings in a food processor with a bit of lemon, olive oil (not much) and you have herring rillettes to spread on sliced toasted baguettes.

And, thank you. I never really noticed TJ's had smoked herrings.

[healing and comfort]

Bad nono: Is that called harengs pomme a l'huile? I had that once in France and have never been able to find it since.

[saffron_rice]

thanks so much! i'll try it tonight!

[misalm]

If your talking about the ones I think you are, in the long green tin, I like to dice up a sweet orange or yellow bell pepper, some red onion (I think shallot would work nicely as well), and lemon juice, mix and mash it all up, then scoop it up with pita chips that I make myself works their pita bread. It's delicious. The fresh watery sweetness of the bell pepper balances the rich strong flavor of the herring really well. I'm thinking next time I might put some dijon mustard in there too.

[saffron_rice]

wow, that sounds fantastic! i'll try it!
like you, i found that i love this as a dip, or sometimes I stuff it into a sandwich. Dijon is a really nice flavor with this fish -- I like it with a bit of dijon, a little red onion, sweet pickle relish and fresh dill, too.