You have definitely heard about Odessa humour, famous violin school, Odessa film studio, Babel and Utesov, about the world’s longest Potemkin stairs, and the bluest Black Sea. Have you heard about our Privoz? Have you tried Odessa cuisine? Cuisine born in a city where people of 133 nationalities live, cook, and most importantly eat under one roof! And what is interesting, when asked what is their nationality, they will say without an eye blinking: “Odessa!” The aromas from Odessa courtyards kitchens windows in summer are incomparable with anything! These are the aromas from the cooks who knows a lot about food. Fried peppers, zucchini, aubergines, a little bit of onion, and garlic … And how do they “make a bazaar”? There, each berry is carefully selected, so that the jam has a look, and not just a taste. And if the cook is not experienced yet, and does not know that “sardelle” is a fish, and “sardel” is a sausage, then she can hear: “Oh, I’m gastronomically sorry for you”. Odessa cuisine is a spicy mixture of Ukrainian salo, Moldavian mamaliga, Italian pasta Bolognese, and French champagne … And all of this is just a side dish for Odessa forshmak!
You have definitely heard about Odessa humour, famous violin school, Odessa film studio, Babel and Utesov, about the world’s longest Potemkin stairs, and the bluest Black Sea. Have you heard about our Privoz? Have you tried Odessa cuisine? Cuisine born in a city where people of 133 nationalities live, cook, and most importantly eat under one roof! And what is interesting, when asked what is their nationality, they will say without an eye blinking: “Odessa!” The aromas from Odessa courtyards kitchens windows in summer are incomparable with anything! These are the aromas from the cooks who knows a lot about food. Fried peppers, zucchini, aubergines, a little bit of onion, and garlic … And how do they “make a bazaar”? There, each berry is carefully selected, so that the jam has a look, and not just a taste. And if the cook is not experienced yet, and does not know that “sardelle” is a fish, and “sardel” is a sausage, then she can hear: “Oh, I’m gastronomically sorry for you”. Odessa cuisine is a spicy mixture of Ukrainian salo, Moldavian mamaliga, Italian pasta Bolognese, and French champagne … And all of this is just a side dish for Odessa forshmak!- Prep time: 7 minutes
- Cook time: 15 minutes
- Serves: 4-6
- Difficulty: easy
- Course: appetizer
- Cookware: knife
- Cuisine: Odessa
Ingredients
- 500 g herring or 300 g herring fillet
- 250 g firm apples, such as Granny Smith
- 150 g cold butter
- freshly ground black pepper
- salt
Cooking method
Step 1
Gut and clean the herring, remove bones and skin. Finely chop the herring fillet. Peel and core the apples. Cut the cold butter and apples into small cubes.
Step 2
In a bowl, mix the herring, butter, and apples. Season with freshly ground pepper and salt. Serve the forshmak chilled.
My tips and tricks:
One should “have the happiness of being able to” skilfully cut ingredients for the forshmak, as they say here in Odessa. If you don’t want to take risks, please, don’t use a blender, it will turn a wonderful product into a grey paste. It would be better to coarsely grind well-chilled ingredients in a meat mincer. By the way, if you like to experiment a little, add half a red chili to the forshmak. If you want it to spice up the forshmak, cut the chili peppers whole. If you want it to be sweet and not hot, cut flat slices from the pod along the fibres, so the knife does not touch the white membranes inside or the seeds. This is the hottest part of the chilli, and knowing this little trick, you can leave it out.
- 500 g herring or 300 g herring fillet
- 250 g firm apples, such as Granny Smith
- 150 g cold butter
- freshly ground black pepper
- salt
- Gut and clean the herring, remove bones and skin. Finely chop the herring fillet. Peel and core the apples. Cut the cold butter and apples into small cubes.
- In a bowl, mix the herring, butter, and apples. Season with freshly ground pepper and salt. Serve the forshmak chilled.