Unfortunately the herring have moved on. Having spawned inshore in the autumn months, the vast schools of now ‘spent’ ‘Silver Darts’ as we affectionately know them have now moved offshore again to feast on plankton and build themselves up once more. Having released or ‘shot’ their roes in a fertile miasma of spawn, these ubiquitous fish have lost a lot of condition and fat content. Of course that by no means renders them inedible and they are still ideal, in my opinion, for pickling or curing, rather than just salting down for lobster bait, which our local guys do here at this time of year.

However, if you don’t have access to fresh fish, then frozen is perfectly acceptable and this very simple recipe uses either and brings to the fore the flavour of the fish and also of the gin.

This is a also a recipe that I’ve developed for Fishers, our new, local, artisan gin distillery on the Suffolk Heritage Coast at Aldeburgh. I’m proud to be working with them to connect the local fishing industry and their accompanying catch to their product and ethos and it’s become a very exciting project.

So curing the herring with your favourite tipple can be highly rewarding and with Fishers even more so, as it is a true ‘coastal’ gin, harnessing the provenance of the seashore and marsh in the various locally-foraged botanicals and exploding onto the palate with combinations of flavours, that set it apart from any other.

So too with the herring, as the unique savouriness of Fishers Gin is instantly identifiable in this dish and makes a perfect pairing for their signature G&T.

Fishers Gin-Cured Herring with Orange, Cucumber and Fennel

Ingredients (Serves four)

Four fresh or frozen herring fillets

2 tbsp caster sugar

4 juniper berries

2 tbsp sea salt

Orange zest

Squeeze of fresh orange juice

150ml Fishers Gin

Fresh ground black pepper

For the fennel and cucumber salsa.

Half a cucumber thinly sliced.

A fennel bulb, thinly sliced.

150 ml olive oil

Squeeze of orange juice

Salt and pepper

Method

Slice the herring fillets into ceviche-like slivers and lay out on a flat tray.

Combine the salt, caster sugar, juniper berries and orange zest and blitz in a food processor for a couple of minutes. Sprinkle the cure over the herring evenly ensuring all the fish is coated, then drizzle over the gin and squeeze over the juice straight from the orange.

Next cover tightly with cling film and refrigerate for 6 hours.

Remove the cling film and wash off the cure, dry on kitchen roll, then cling film and refrigerate again for another hour.

For the salad, combine the ingredients and toss lightly together in a bowl.

Spoon the salad onto individual plates or into ramekins and arrange the cured herring on top, garnish with black pepper, sea salt and another squeeze of orange if necessary. Serve immediately.