Pan Fried Herring Fillets on Bruschetta with Summer Salad

Herring are a late spring and summer fish here in the UK and with summer (hopefully) on its way, herring are starting to appear more frequently in supermarkets and fishmongers, albeit very much the smaller ones for now. This recipe for one includes two small herring, from which the two side loin fillets have been cut and pan fried.
 

Ingredients per Serving

4 small herring loin fillets
1 small tomato
2" piece of cucumber
2 garlic cloves (1 for salad, 1 for bruschetta)
8 to 10 pitted black olives
Handful of fresh rocket/arugula
1" thick slice of farmhouse bread
Extra virgin olive oil
Flour for dusting fillets
1 tbsp vegetable oil for frying
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 or 3 basil leaves to garnish

Directions

It is advisable to begin by preparing the salad. Chop the tomato in to six wedges and the cucumber in to six even sized pieces. Peel the garlic clove. Add the tomato and cucumber to a small bowl with the olives and grate in the garlic clove. Pour in some extra virgin olive oil, season with salt and pepper and stir well. Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate until required.

Use a proper filleting knife to take the fillets off each side of the two herring. If you wish, you could ask your supermarket assistant/fishmonger to do this for you.

Scatter some flour on a plate and season with salt and pepper. Wash any blood and innards from the fillets in cold water and pat dry with kitchen paper. Pat the skin side only in the flour and shake off the excess.

Add some vegetable oil to a frying pan and fry the herring fillets on the skin side until you can see they are almost done. This will only take a couple of minutes. Turn off the heat and turn the fillets over to complete cooking while you toast the bread.

Toast the bread on both sides until nicely golden. Peel and crush the second garlic clove and rub it over what will be the top side of the toast. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Lay the bruschetta on a serving plate. Arrange the rocket/arugula alongside and spoon on the salad mixture.

Carefully place the herring fillets on top of the bruschetta and garnish with some freshly torn basil leaves before serving.