Preparation
- Mix the Schmand, sour cream, vinegar, sugar and mustard until smooth, season with pepper and stir in the dill.
- Cut the onions into thin rings and the gherkins into half slices; quarter and core the apple, slice it and toss with the lemon juice. Set aside a few onion rings and apple wedges for garnish and stir the rest into the sauce.
- Briefly rinse the matjes fillets, pat dry, cut into pieces and gently fold into the sauce. Cover and leave in the fridge to marinate for at least 3 hours, ideally overnight.
- Shortly before serving, bring the potatoes to the boil unpeeled in salted water, cook for about 20 minutes, drain, rinse under cold water and peel.
- Taste the sauce before serving and add more salt if needed. Arrange the matjes and sauce on plates, garnish with onion rings, apple wedges and dill and serve with the jacket potatoes.
Drink with it
Pale lager · excellent match
Crisp, bitter pils, ice cold
Hop bitterness and fizz cut through the creamy sauce and the rich fillet; in the north, beer is the drink with matjes.
Pils or Helles: What's the Difference?Vodka · excellent match
Ice-cold clear spirit (vodka or Korn), neat in a small glass
A small, very cold schnapps washes fat and salt from the palate, as is the custom with matjes.
What Is Vodka? Raw Materials, Flavor, and CocktailsWhite wine · good match
Dry Riesling or Silvaner
The acidity picks up the apple and vinegar and cuts through the Schmand and the oily fish.
Which wine pairs with food? A simple approach to choosingSour beer · good match
Gose or Berliner Weisse
The sourness mirrors the apple, gherkin and vinegar, and the light saltiness of the Gose suits the fish.
What is sour beer? Recognizing intentional acidityLondon dry gin · good match
Gin and tonic, plenty of ice
Juniper and botanicals recall aquavit, and the bitterness of the tonic cleanses the mouth after the cream sauce.
London Dry Gin: does it have to come from London?