My favourite fish salad, using smoked seabass

There's a smoked fish salad that I've been making for years. Here's the routine. On a Saturday morning, the kids and I (and usually my K. as well) head to the local farmers market, Viimsi Taluturg.  There are several stalls selling excellent fish, and one of them, Pepe Kala, sells excellent hot-smoked seabass. It's my choice of fish for this salad, although other smoked specimens would work just as well.

We head home, unpack our lot. I'll open the paper-wrapped smoked seabass and start cleaning the fish. I must work quickly here, or otherwise our 3-year old daughter eats most of the fish and I'll have none left for making the salad (she loves fish!). I'll then mix the salad (recipe below, of course) and enjoy. Sometimes we eat it as it is, sometimes we put that on top some toasted rye bread (photo above), sometimes we use it as a filling for paper-thin crepes, sometimes we enjoy it with some just-out-of-the-oven jacket potatoes. It's versatile and it's delicious.

Will keep well in the fridge (covered, of course) for a few days.


Smoked Fish Salad
(Maitsev suitsukalasalat munaga)
Serves four

1 medium-sized smoked fish (hot-smoked seabass is good)
4 eggs
1 or 2 (red) onions
handful of fresh dill and chives
some mayonnaise and/or sour cream
freshly ground black pepper

Hard-boil the eggs, then cool under cold running water. Peel the eggs, and smash with a fork in bowl.
Peel the onion(s), chop finely.
Clean the smoked fish carefully, discard the skin and bones. Chop the fish into smaller pieces.
Finely chop the herbs.
Mix the eggs, onions, smoked fish and herbs in a bowl. Fold in just enough mayonnaise or sour cream (or indeed, both) to bind the ingredients.
Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.