German Cold Potato and Herring Salad Recipe
This salad combines potatoes, herring, apple and pickled cucumber in a creamy yet slightly tangy dressing. In Germany, similar salads appear on cold buffets, especially in winter and around New Year’s Eve. It’s something between Polish vegetable salad and herring in cream, only more potato-forward.
Similar potato and herring salads appear in Germany on New Year’s Eve “Kalte Platten” alongside cold cuts and sausages. It’s a convenient party dish – you can make it the day before, and a bowl of it holds up well on a cold buffet for a long time.
It combines classic Northern European flavors—potatoes, herring, apple and pickles—into a creamy, satisfying salad that works both as a starter and a light meal.
Why this version works
- Cooking the potatoes in their skins and letting them cool completely keeps the diced pieces from falling apart.
- Seasoning the dressing separately lets you balance the saltiness of the herring and the sourness of the pickles.
- Adding apple and dill brightens up the flavor of the heavier, mayonnaise-based sauce.
- Larger pieces of herring give a clear fish accent in every bite.
Chef's tips
Make sure the potatoes are fully cooled before mixing; warm potatoes can break apart and make the salad mushy. Taste the herring first and adjust the amount of salt in the dressing accordingly.
How to serve
Serve on a bed of lettuce leaves with extra dill on top, alongside rye bread and sliced red onion. It also works well as part of a larger cold buffet with other fish dishes.
Watch out for
- Don’t mix the salad while the potatoes are even slightly warm, or they’ll soak up the dressing and the whole thing will turn dry.
- Don’t soak the herrings for too long – taste every few minutes so you don’t wash out all the flavor.
- Add the lemon juice gradually, especially if your fermented cucumbers are very sour.
Substitutions
- You can replace part of the mayonnaise with extra yogurt if you prefer a lighter version.
- You can swap the tart apple, such as a russet, for a sweeter variety; in that case add a little more lemon juice.
Ingredients
- potatoes - 600 g
- herring - 250 g
- apple - 1 piece
- pickled cucumber - 2 piece
- onion - 0.5 piece
- yogurt - 150 g
- mayonnaise - 60 g
- mustard - 10 g
- dill chopped - 2 tablespoons
- lemon juice - 10 ml
- salt - 3 g
- black pepper ground - 1 g
Preparation
- Wash the potatoes thoroughly and cook them in their skins in salted water for 15–20 minutes, until tender but not falling apart. Drain and cool completely.
- If the herrings are very salty, rinse them under running water and pat dry with paper towels. Cut into strips or larger cubes.
- Peel the cooled potatoes and cut into large cubes.
- Peel the apple (if the skin is tough), remove the core and cut into small cubes. Dice the pickled cucumbers finely. Finely chop the onion.
- In a bowl, mix the yogurt, mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, salt and pepper until you have a smooth dressing.
- Place the potatoes, herring, apple, cucumbers and onion in a large bowl. Add the chopped dill.
- Pour the dressing into the bowl with the other ingredients and mix very gently, preferably with a large spoon, so the potatoes don’t fall apart.
- Cover the salad and refrigerate for at least 1 hour so the flavors can meld. Serve well chilled.
Storage
Keep the salad in an airtight container in the fridge and eat within 1–2 days. Stir gently before serving, and if it seems too thick, loosen it with a spoonful of yogurt.
I like to add a little extra lemon juice right before serving to brighten the flavors, especially if the salad has rested overnight.
