Sillgratin ( Swedish Herring Casserole)

This is a traditional herring potato casserole. It wills serve 6 for dinner or 8 or more for a smorgasborg. Times do not reflect the soaking time if using salt herring. If Salt herring is not available see variations below or use a firm fleshed white fish as substitute.

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

• 2  large  salt herring fillets (or see variations below)
• 6  raw potatoes
• 2  yellow onions
• 1⁄3 cup butter
• 3  eggs
• 2  cups milk or 2  cups  cream
• 1  teaspoon sugar
•  white pepper, to taste
•  finely chopped dill weed, to taste
•  salt, to taste
• 1⁄4 cup  breadcrumbs

Directions

1. TO PREPARE USING SALT HERRING:.
2. soak the herring in cold water overnight to remove the salt.
3. Rinse and drain.
4. Split the herring along the backbone, remove the bones (including the small bones), remove and discard the skin, drain the herring on a paper towel.
5. Use whole filets in the casserole or cut the filets into 1 inch pieces.
6. THEN TO COMPLETE THE CASSEROLE:.
7. Peel the potatoes, then slice them about 1/4" thick.
8. Slice the onions about 1/4" thick and sauté them in 2-3 tablespoons of the butter, until they're soft and transparent but not brown.
9. Butter a baking dish with the butter used to sauté the onions.
10. Alternate rows in the baking dish of raw potato slices, herring, and sautéed onions.
11. In a small bowl, beat 3 eggs with a wire whisk.
12. Add 2 cups milk or cream and the teaspoon sugar.
13. Mix well.
14. Pour over the top of the casserole.
15. Add white pepper to taste, freshly ground if available.
16. Add the dill weed to taste.
17. Season with salt to taste.
18. Sprinkle the bread crumbs on top and dot with the remaining butter.
19. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake at 400ºF for 20 minutes.
20. Remove the foil and bake for another 20 minutes or until the potatoes are fully cooked.
21. VARIATIONS:.
22. If you cannot find salt herring you can substitute one of the following instead:
23. a.)Herring filets in wine: rinse well in cold water and drain.
24. B.)Kippered herring filets in a can: rinse gently by running some cold water into the opened can, draining, and repeating several times. Carefully remove the filets from the can to avoid breaking them any more than necessary. (The smoked flavor of the kippered herring is a great variation in this casserole.).