Herrings, lard and mascarpone: delicious recipes?
August 24, 2020 8:17 AM Subscribe
It looks increasingly likely that this trinity of foods may become significant in my life in a few weeks time. Are there any good recipes which involve all three (or two of the three) of these? Bonus points for simple plans for someone with poor cooking skills and kitchen phobias (me), and triple bonus points if "cooking brandy" can also be usefully added in some manner.
Lardy Cake and mascarpone could be good, you could put a lot of lemon zest/juice through the lardy cake to cut through the sheer amount of fat involved. Maybe use citrus instead of/as well as the dried fruit, and lose the spices? The whole thing combination could end up a bit like a trifle.
Herring, gooseberry relish and mascarpone could work and you could definitely fry that herring in the lard.
I guess don't put the herring in the trifle. But you could put gooseberries in the lardy cake, I think that could work.
Anyway the key to this one is adding something that tastes very sharp.
posted by quacks like a duck at 8:39 AM on August 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
Herring, gooseberry relish and mascarpone could work and you could definitely fry that herring in the lard.
I guess don't put the herring in the trifle. But you could put gooseberries in the lardy cake, I think that could work.
Anyway the key to this one is adding something that tastes very sharp.
posted by quacks like a duck at 8:39 AM on August 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
yay it's Wordshore back with another unbelievably random food related question! My day is made!
I'd pickle that herring, with onion. Then I would get some good brown bread, spread the mascarpone on the bread, and lay the pickled herring over it. (Pickled herring + sour cream is a standard combination, and I think the mascarpone could stand in pretty well; sometimes people just put herring on buttered toast too, and mascarpone is a lot like butter.) Eat! Delicious.
Lard, as far as I know, is used to make sturdy pastries. Perhaps you make a lovely tart crust with a mascarpone filling, something like this. Eat it for dessert, after your herring toasts.
eta: soak some dried fruits in the brandy, cook them down with sugar to a tasty brandy-flavored syrup and put them on the tart.
posted by fingersandtoes at 9:04 AM on August 24, 2020 [5 favorites]
I'd pickle that herring, with onion. Then I would get some good brown bread, spread the mascarpone on the bread, and lay the pickled herring over it. (Pickled herring + sour cream is a standard combination, and I think the mascarpone could stand in pretty well; sometimes people just put herring on buttered toast too, and mascarpone is a lot like butter.) Eat! Delicious.
Lard, as far as I know, is used to make sturdy pastries. Perhaps you make a lovely tart crust with a mascarpone filling, something like this. Eat it for dessert, after your herring toasts.
eta: soak some dried fruits in the brandy, cook them down with sugar to a tasty brandy-flavored syrup and put them on the tart.
posted by fingersandtoes at 9:04 AM on August 24, 2020 [5 favorites]
Because you've already gotten helpful advice, what about making three sushi rolls, one that's a tempura (lard), one that's a Philadelphia roll (marscapone for cream cheese), and then a herring sashimi?
posted by tarshish bound at 10:09 AM on August 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by tarshish bound at 10:09 AM on August 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I tried plugging your ingredients into Eat Your Books, in various combinations. This doesn't get you the recipes, but it does get you the knowledge that the recipes exist.
There's nothing with all three of your ingredients. Any two gets you options, but generally few enough that I may as well list them all:
Herring + lard:
"Desk bento for one: The monocle". Whatever this is, it uses tinned herring, which may not be appropriate. It also uses mascarpone, mini toasts and capers.
Mascarpone + lard:
Brandy + mascarpone:
This one gets you plenty, most of them desserts, many of them a bit daunting. Baked berries with brandy and mascarpone sounds both uncontroversial and unchallenging, and better yet, I found the recipe online.
Brandy + herring:
This gets you home-pickled herrings, which would be handy if you wanted to make that fruit pie, or pan-fried mustard herring with mashed potatoes and Cognac lingonberries.
Brandy + lard:
Lots of options here too.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 10:31 AM on August 24, 2020 [3 favorites]
There's nothing with all three of your ingredients. Any two gets you options, but generally few enough that I may as well list them all:
Herring + lard:
- Fried herrings
- Fried herrings in oatmeal
- Corned beef hash with salt herring
- Veal pate: another recipe calling for salt herring, along with potatoes, sour cream, nutmeg, veal and of course lard
- Pickled herring and fruit pie: this one appeared twice. It horrifies me. I had to share.
"Desk bento for one: The monocle". Whatever this is, it uses tinned herring, which may not be appropriate. It also uses mascarpone, mini toasts and capers.
Mascarpone + lard:
- Gluten-free fig and raspberry mascarpone tart with local honey
- Piadina with prosciutto and mascarpone
- Traditional apple pie with cheddar crust and mascarpone nutmeg ice cream
- Levante
- Chicken, leek and celeriac pie
Brandy + mascarpone:
This one gets you plenty, most of them desserts, many of them a bit daunting. Baked berries with brandy and mascarpone sounds both uncontroversial and unchallenging, and better yet, I found the recipe online.
Brandy + herring:
This gets you home-pickled herrings, which would be handy if you wanted to make that fruit pie, or pan-fried mustard herring with mashed potatoes and Cognac lingonberries.
Brandy + lard:
Lots of options here too.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 10:31 AM on August 24, 2020 [3 favorites]
Assuming the herrings are soused/pickled already, I'd aim for something along the lines of these herring salad versions: Pickled herrings with apple, onion & sour cream / Layered Pickled Herring Salad with Tart Apples and Red Onion / Matjes Herring in Cream Sauce / German Red Herring Salad, subbing the mascarpone for the (sour) cream.
By lard, do you mean fat, or lardo?
If just the fat, it could be useful for frying up unpickled, fresh herrings, or else to pan-fry potatoes to accompany pickled herrings. Lardo, on the other hand, is best used to wrap things - in this case, potentially, fresh herrings.
(Seconding the brandy & mascarpone suggestions for zabaione-like cream desserts.)
posted by progosk at 10:52 AM on August 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
By lard, do you mean fat, or lardo?
If just the fat, it could be useful for frying up unpickled, fresh herrings, or else to pan-fry potatoes to accompany pickled herrings. Lardo, on the other hand, is best used to wrap things - in this case, potentially, fresh herrings.
(Seconding the brandy & mascarpone suggestions for zabaione-like cream desserts.)
posted by progosk at 10:52 AM on August 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
Maybe you could even try lard-poaching your herring, if they're fresh - a kind of "confit d'hareng" along the lines of this; I've had this done with tuna and with mackerel, just slowly simmered in aromatised oil/fat. (Best consumed cold, on bread, maybe with a razor-thin layer of mascarpone, alongside something sour like pickles, and a cold beer.)
posted by progosk at 10:59 AM on August 24, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by progosk at 10:59 AM on August 24, 2020 [3 favorites]
We've already had the lard and mascarpone posts, so I hope this means we can look forward to an imminent Wordshore FPP on herrings in British cuisine and culture .. please?
posted by verstegan at 12:51 PM on August 24, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by verstegan at 12:51 PM on August 24, 2020 [2 favorites]
The traditional thing here in Denmark is to eat herring on rye bread with lard instead of butter. I prefer the very plain version, where the herring is first salted, then marinated lightly in spiced vinegar, then served on bread + lard with raw onions and capers as the garnish.
The herring can be fried or pickled or fried and pickled (you fry the herring and then pickle it). There are many herring dressings that use creme fraiche, I guess you could use mascarpone instead. When you buy them in a jar, the fish and the dressing are mixed up. But at home you will serve the pickled herring and then a dressing along side. It could be with curry, or beet red beets, or with dill, or with mustard. Also matjes are served with salads based on sour cream or creme fraiche.
Sometimes you can get a very rustic serving: just the matjes, some boiled new potatoes, some raw onion, a dollop of creme fraiche, and rye bread and lard. It is excellent, I recommend.
posted by mumimor at 1:39 PM on August 26, 2020 [3 favorites]
The herring can be fried or pickled or fried and pickled (you fry the herring and then pickle it). There are many herring dressings that use creme fraiche, I guess you could use mascarpone instead. When you buy them in a jar, the fish and the dressing are mixed up. But at home you will serve the pickled herring and then a dressing along side. It could be with curry, or beet red beets, or with dill, or with mustard. Also matjes are served with salads based on sour cream or creme fraiche.
Sometimes you can get a very rustic serving: just the matjes, some boiled new potatoes, some raw onion, a dollop of creme fraiche, and rye bread and lard. It is excellent, I recommend.
posted by mumimor at 1:39 PM on August 26, 2020 [3 favorites]
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its possible to bread and fry herring, it probably would taste great fried in the lard.
posted by zdravo at 8:23 AM on August 24, 2020 [2 favorites]