Val gets his herring

Last week here in the Netherlands, Val and I went to the terrific Kröller-Müller Museum — a small but wonderful museum with a powerful collection and a famous sculpture garden situated in a national park. (more about that soon) It is near the little town of Otterlo, which like all little towns near national parks, caters to visitors with lodging and souvenirs and eateries.

On the way in, we spotted a large seafood-vending truck and on the way out we stopped to let Val sample the new herring, which by all accounts, is especially good this year — fat and delicious.

Val perused the case. It had all kinds of fish, shellfish and langoustines, some to be taken away, others to be prepared on the spot. He ordered one piece of herring, which came with diced white onions on a little silvered-paper plate.

He downed it country-style: grasping the tail, tilting his head back and dropping it into his mouth for a big bite. This won him an approving smile from the locals, who had watched with a mild curiosity to see how the buitenlanders would manage the local delicacy. (In Amsterdam, they serve herring cut into pieces, with toothpicks)

The review: Val is already back in the states, but he e-mailed me this description of his herring experience.

The vendor had skinned and boned the herring — the head was off, the spine removed and the two filets held together only by the tail and a small piece of backbone. The fish was slippery — it’s very fatty — so it took a couple of tries and a firm grip to hold it by the tail and raise it into the air. The white onions provided just the right sharp counterpoint to the smooth, fatty, salty, fishy flavor of the raw fish. One bite and I had about half of it — the meat was soft, with a nice texture. A couple of chews, then the other half. Great snack (but left my fingers smelling of fish), all that was missing was a cold beer! I wish we could get these at home.

Here’s a little video in English about this year’s new herring from Radio Netherlands Worldwide. Watch it to learn more about the fish, how it is cured, how it became a national delicacy, how it is prepared and eaten.