Mock Chopped Herring

Ingredients

• 1.475 gram canned plain mackerel, deboned
• 2.9 eggs, hard-boiled
• 3.4 Granny Smith apples, peeled
• 4.1 onion, medium
• 5.15 Marie biscuits
• 6.10 millilitre salt, 2 teaspoons
• 7.10 millilitre vinegar essence, 2 teaspoons
• 8.ground cinnamon, pinch
• 9.sugar, to taste

Method

1. 1.Debone the mackerel.
2. 2.Mince the mackerel, the eggs, the apples, the onion and the biscuits together.
3. 3.Season with the salt, the vinegar essence, the cinnamon and the sugar.
4. 4.Put out on platters and decorate as if it was chopped herring.

Notes

• A quick mock version of chopped herring using tinned mackerel — no overnight soaking required.
• Marie biscuits are used instead of bread (as in the real version), making this suitable for Passover if using matzos instead.
• Card note: '20 oz. tin' written alongside the mackerel quantity — the 475g/20oz tin is the standard South African size.
• Vinegar essence = concentrated acetic acid (sold in SA as an alternative to white vinegar); use ¼ teaspoon per cup white vinegar if substituting.