Śledź w Śmietanie

The story

Salt herring, soaked in milk to draw off some of its saltiness, then sliced and mixed with sour cream and onion — many families add grated apple as well — is one of the first dishes served at the Wigilia table — a simple appetizer that asks for little work on a day when every other pair of hands is busy with pierogi and barszcz. For centuries herring was one of the few fish available in Poland's interior, far from the sea, precisely because salting let it be transported and stored without spoiling. The practicality has outlived the need: fresh fish is easy to come by today, and herring remains a favorite out of habit and taste, not necessity. There are many variations — in mustard, in oil with onion, in vinegar — but the cream version is especially popular at Wigilia for its mild, creamy texture, which doesn't weigh on the stomach before a long evening of twelve dishes. For Polish Americans, śledź is often the first bite they eat at Wigilia, even before bread.