Swedish herring paste belongs to Hans Välimäki’s May Day.
You can eat bread, potatoes or apple pancakes with herring paste. Mikko Huisko
On holiday, chef Hans Välimäki prepares Swedish herring paste, or gubbrö.
– It’s super good, Välimäki says.
Herring paste is May Day’s salvation. It tastes just as good on the eve as it does at May Day brunch – regardless of how enthusiastically you celebrated the night before.
According to Välimäki, herring paste is easier to eat than basic herring, so it can be used to attract people who are still skeptical about the secrets of herring. He also makes this paste on New Year’s and Midsummer, after all, we eat herring then anyway. Paste always works.
With Gubbröra, Välimäki bakes small apple fritters, or better, apple pancakes. These apple fritters are a bit like blinis.
Välimäki advises people who bake pancakes that the shape doesn’t always have to be small and round. If there are a lot of people eating, and you don’t want to be around the pan all evening, you can fry one pancake the size of a large frying pan at once.
– Being a lazy man, I sometimes bake big pancakes, from which I cut a piece for everyone, Välimäki admits.
Gubbróra
2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
1–2 matjes herring fillets, chopped
1 chopped yellow onion
1 tablespoon chopped dill
1 tablespoon chopped chives
2–3 tablespoons of mayonnaise
2–3 tablespoons of crème fraîche
1. Mix the eggs, chopped matzo fillet, onion, dill, chives and mayonnaise and crème fraîche. Mix and season with pepper if necessary.
2. Serve with apple pancakes.
Pancake batter
75 g of flour
2 g of baking powder
1 egg
75 ml of milk
25 g of ricotta cheese
80 g grated granny smith apple
dill
grated rind of half a lemon
2 g of salt
black pepper
1. Mix all the ingredients together.
2. Fry the pancakes in a pan.