Classic Swedish Vegan Eggplant “Herring”

There is a classic dish made from herring that Swedes eat at every holiday, may it be Easter, Midsummer or Christmas, the herring is a staple on the table. I have never enjoyed it as a child, prior to becoming a vegetarian. But the various sauces and techniques to flavour the herring, are something that I’ve always found fascinating from a foodie perspective.

I made this version of the most classical of the flavours with seaweed caviar. I will experiment with king oyster mushrooms as well, but that’s for another recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 pc eggplant
• 1 pc spring onion
• 2,5 dl oat crème fraîche or any other plant based crème fraîche
• 3 tbsp seaweed caviar
• 1,5 tbsp freshly chopped dill
• 1 tbsp freshly chopped chives

Directions:

• Slice the aubergine into equally thick slices (about 1 cm thick). Steam for  3-5 minutes until tender but still tight. Let cool off.
• Chop the onion, chives and dill. Blend with the oat creme fraiche, and lastly add the seaweed caviar in a jar.
• Once the aubergine has cooled off, slice the longer pieces into smaller squares. If you prefer, remove the black skin on the aubergine. I tend to do that because I prefer that smooth texture.
• Blend with the oat crème fraîche.
• Let stand overnight in the fridge before serving.
• Last for a week or so in the fridge.