Without herrings we can't imagine the Christmas Eve table. We can prepare them in the traditional way with onion, or with dried plums, or as a salad. Choose your favourite version: sweet, spicy or dry.

Serve them in an unconventional way in small glasses or tiny bowls with French pastry. This dish can be a decoration for the Christmas table, New Year's Eve dinner or a meeting with friends.

Today I would like to share with you my own set of salads. Everybody can find something for themselves. One of them is more spicy with pineapple, the second is with gherkins and the third is sweet with cranberries.

Ingredients (for two people)
6 bowls with French pastry
Salad 1
100g of herrings in oil
5 slices of tinned pineapple
half a chili pepper
2 tablespoons of minced chives
2 tablespoons of mayonnaise
2 tablespoons of pineapple juice
Cube the herrings and pineapple. Dice the chili pepper. Mix the mayonnaise with the pineapple juice. Mix every salad ingredient with the dip. Serve chilled.

Salad 2

100g of herrings in oil
half a small onion
1 big gherkin
half an apple
1 tablespoon of French mustard
Dice the apple and gherkin. Dice the onion and rinse it with hot water and mix with the apple, gherkin and mustard. Cube the herrings and mix with the rest of the salad. Serve chilled.

Salad 3
100g of herrings in oil
1 small onion
a fistful of dried cranberries
a fistful of almonds
1 teaspoon of honey
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Soak the cranberries in hot water and leave them for 15 minutes. Blanch the almonds and mince them. Slice the onion and rinse it with hot water. Cube the herrings and mix them with the drained cranberries, onion and almonds. Make the dip with lemon juice, honey and olive oil and sprinkle the salad with it. Serve chilled.

Put the salads into small bowls. Decorate with leaves of basil, rosemary, peppermint and parsley.

Enjoy your meal!