Rye Toast with Soft Butter and Quick-Pickled Herring

Thick rye toast soft with cultured butter, crowned by quick-pickled herring, sharp red onion, and dill. It recalls dawn on the IJ in Silver Scales Before First Beer, when the herring fleet’s silver catch met brine, rye, and the city’s first hunger.

Serves 4

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Ingredients

• 8 slices rye bread
• 6 tbsp cultured butter
• 8 oz jarred pickled herring fillets
• 1 medium red onion
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 1/4 cup fresh dill
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp sugar

Instructions

1. 1Thinly slice the red onion and place in a bowl with the vinegar, mustard seeds, and sugar.
2. 2Cut the pickled herring fillets into bite-sized pieces and add to the onion mixture along with half the chopped dill.
3. 3Let the herring pickle at room temperature while preparing the toast, about 15 minutes.
4. 4Toast the rye bread slices until deeply golden, then spread each generously with cultured butter.
5. 5Top the buttered rye toast with the quick-pickled herring and onions, sprinkle with remaining fresh dill, and serve immediately.