Herring in sweet pickle

Ingredients

225g/8oz granulated sugar
150ml/5fl oz cider vinegar
8 peppercorns
1 tsp pickling spice
3 red onions, peeled and sliced
5 pickled gherkins, quartered lengthways
few springs fresh dill
8 preserved herring fillets

Method

1. Boil together the first 4 ingredients for 5 minutes to make a syrup. Cool.
2. Remove the herring fillets from the brine and put into a half milk half water solution to remove salt. The length of time this needs to be done depends on how long they have been in the salt solution (for 48 hours I would allow a minimum of ½ hour).
3. Dry on kitchen paper and lay flesh side up.
4. Lay a piece of gherkin, a sprig of dill and a slice of onion on each fillet. Roll up and secure with a cocktail stick.
5. Put into a container, pour over syrup and cover.
6. Store in the fridge for a further 24-48 hours. The herrings are now ready to serve.
7. Great served with iced vodka or aquavit.