Strömming is the small, silvery herring of the Baltic Sea, and Swedes treat it as a fish in its own right, quite separate from the larger herring of the Atlantic. Fried, it is one of the country's best loved simple meals, sold as street food from stalls and served in cafés across Sweden: fillets dusted in rye flour, fried in plenty of butter and eaten either on a slice of buttered crispbread with a few rings of red onion, or on a plate with creamy mashed potatoes and lingonberries.

The classic home method is strömmingsflundra, herring flounder, in which two fillets are pressed together, skin side out, with a herb butter between them. As they fry, the butter melts into the fish from the inside. It is cheap, quick and deeply Swedish, and it proves that the best street food needs neither a deep fryer nor a long queue, though a good stall usually has one.

Pressed cucumber

Ingredients

• 1 English cucumber
• 3 tablespoons (45 ml) white wine vinegar or distilled white vinegar
• 3 tablespoons (45 ml) water
• 2 tablespoons (25 g) granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley or dill

Method

1. Stir the vinegar, water, sugar and salt in the medium bowl until the sugar dissolves. Add the cucumber slices and the herbs, press them down into the liquid with your hand, and leave for at least 20 minutes, stirring once or twice.

Mashed potatoes

Ingredients

• 2 lb (900 g) floury potatoes
• 3/4 cup (180 ml) whole milk
• 3 tablespoons (45 g) butter
• to taste salt and white pepper
• a pinch freshly grated nutmeg

Method

1. Put the potatoes in the large saucepan, cover with cold water, add 2 teaspoons of salt and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.
2. Drain well, return the potatoes to the hot pan and leave for 1 minute to steam dry. Mash thoroughly, then beat in the butter and warm milk a little at a time with a wooden spoon. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Cover and keep warm.

The fried herring

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb (680 g) fresh Baltic herring, butterflied and deboned
• 4 tablespoons (55 g) soft salted butter
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped dill and parsley, mixed
• 1/2 cup (60 g) rye flour
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 4 tablespoons (55 g) butter

Method

1. Mash the soft salted butter with the chopped dill and parsley in the small bowl with a fork until evenly green.
2. Pat the fish dry with paper towels. If your fish are butterflied, cut each one down the middle into two fillets. Lay half the fillets skin side down on a tray and spread each with about 1 teaspoon of herb butter. Cover each with a second fillet of the same size, skin side up, and press together gently.
3. Mix the rye flour, salt and white pepper on a shallow plate. Lay each herring pair in the flour, press lightly, turn and coat the other side. Shake off the excess and set them on a clean tray.
4. Melt half the frying butter in the skillet over medium heat. When it has stopped foaming and smells nutty, lay in half the herring pairs, leaving space between them. Fry for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes until golden, then turn carefully with the fish spatula and fry for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes more. Fish is cooked at 145°F (63°C).
5. Lift the fish onto paper towels for a moment, then onto a warm plate. Wipe out the pan, add the rest of the butter and fry the second batch the same way.

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