Stekt Sill for My Grandmother

My Grandmother has not been back to her hometown of Göteborg (Gothenburg, Sweden) in almost 14 years. She used to go annually.  She often talks about the Swedish food she is hungry for. Bullar (Swedish-style buns), sockerkaka (like Victoria sponge or yellow cake), and blodpudding (black pudding) high among them. Being from the West Coast she talks most about fish. She has told me many many times about how much she misses the stekt sill (fried herring) of her youth. She says her mother made it for her every time she went back to Sweden. 

The Stars Align

During this latest trip to California several stars aligned. My Grandmother’s sister, my Great-Aunt Kristina was going to be staying with her for several weeks at the same time as my boyfriend and I. It also so happens that I am dating not only a Swede, but a professional cook (lucky me I know). A cook who has cooked a lot of very traditional Swedish food. So I hatched a plan. He and I (mostly him) would make stekt sill for my Grandmother and her sister while we stayed with them! Great idea right? 

Herring in Los Angeles

Here’s the thing. You can’t get herring in Los Angeles. Pickled herring oh yeah for sure. But whole fresh herring? Yeah no. Who would buy it? But I am nothing if not determined so I called Santa Monica Seafood. I spoke to their manager and after a lot of talking he said he’d call his purveyor but made no promises. More phone calls and text messages and, weather permitting, the purveyor could get it in and air ship it but there was a minimum order, 5kgs. That’s not a small amount of fish. But I didn’t care I was going to take whatever I could get. 

When I picked up the fish the manager gutted them himself for me. He said they had never gotten in whole herring before! 

Filleting, Breading, Frying

My boyfriend did all the work filleting (with my Grandmother’s incredibly dull knives, stackaren), breading and frying, while I set the table and opened a jar of lingonsylt. I’m am SO helpful, I know. Nana had a bottle of aquavit in the freezer because, as has been established, she is a Good Swede™️, which I poured into the appropriate little glasses. We also cracked open some beers and a half bottle of Champagne because why not? 

Herring is not my favorite food in the world but I did eat a whole fillet and didn’t hate every second, which really shows you how good it was. My Grandmother and her sister though, they LOVED it. Which is really the whole point. 

For My Grandmother

My whole adult life is because of my Grandmother. I live in Sweden because she is Swedish. I grew up with the food, the traditions, the culture. I bake because she bakes and baked with me my entire childhood. I am who I am because she is who she is. I just wanted a small way of saying thank you.