Egyptian Herring Salad for Sham El-Nessim
Herring salad is made from ready-smoked herring: the skin and bones are removed and the fillets soak in milk or water for an hour to cut the saltiness, then they're dressed with onion, lemon, olive oil and herbs. The two steps that matter are the soaking and the cleaning.
- Prep
- 75 min
- Cook
- —
- Total
- 75 min
- Calories
- 210
Herring on the Sham El-Nessim table is a genuinely Egyptian tradition — and unlike fesikh, which is fermented at home and carries real health risks, smoked herring is bought ready from a trusted shop and is entirely safe. What takes work is the cleaning and the dressing.
Method
-
1
Clean the fish
Cut off the head, open the fish along its length, remove the skin, the backbone and every bone you can see, and take out the innards. Rinse well under running water.
⏱ 25 min -
2
Soak
Soak the fillets in milk for a full hour in the fridge. The milk draws out much of the salt and softens the strong smell.
⏱ 60 min -
3
Cut
Rinse the fillets from the milk, pat them dry with kitchen paper, and cut them into small pieces.
⏱ 5 min -
4
The onion
Slice the onion very thinly and rub it with a little salt and lemon juice, then leave it ten minutes — it loses its harshness and softens.
⏱ 10 min -
5
Combine
Toss the herring with the onion, pepper, tomato and parsley, then pour over the olive oil, the remaining lemon juice, the cumin and the chilli. Mix gently.
⏱ 4 min -
6
Rest
Cover and chill for two hours before serving so the flavours come together.
Cooked it? Rate it
Your rating tells the next cook whether this recipe is worth their time.
✓ Thanks — your rating is in.
Tips that actually matter
- Buy herring from a shop you know and in season. Sound herring has firm flesh and a smoky, not pungent, smell.
- Don't add any salt — herring is salty to begin with, even after soaking.
- No milk? Soak in water with the juice of a lemon, though milk is better.
- Serve with baladi bread, spring onions and lupini beans — the traditional Sham El-Nessim spread.
People also ask
What's the difference between herring and fesikh?
Herring is smoked and salted; fesikh is fermented mullet. Herring is far safer, because smoking is a controlled process, while home-made fesikh carries a genuine risk of poisoning.
How do I make herring less salty?
Soaking in milk for an hour is the best method — it draws out salt without washing away the smoky flavour.
How long does it keep?
Two days in a sealed container in the fridge. It's best eaten the same day or the next.
Cook mode
Egyptian Herring Salad for Sham El-Nessim
-
1
Clean the fish
Cut off the head, open the fish along its length, remove the skin, the backbone and every bone you can see, and take out the innards. Rinse well under running water.
-
2
Soak
Soak the fillets in milk for a full hour in the fridge. The milk draws out much of the salt and softens the strong smell.
-
3
Cut
Rinse the fillets from the milk, pat them dry with kitchen paper, and cut them into small pieces.
-
4
The onion
Slice the onion very thinly and rub it with a little salt and lemon juice, then leave it ten minutes — it loses its harshness and softens.
-
5
Combine
Toss the herring with the onion, pepper, tomato and parsley, then pour over the olive oil, the remaining lemon juice, the cumin and the chilli. Mix gently.
-
6
Rest
Cover and chill for two hours before serving so the flavours come together.
Comments
Cooked it? Tell us how it went, or ask a question — we read every comment.