Cuisine: The Polish Palate
Course: Appetizers
Diet: Pescatarian, Gluten-Free, Low-Carb
Occasion: Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve, Carnival, Meatless Dinner

Śledzie w Śmietanie (Traditional Polish Herring in Sour Cream)

Briny salted herring fillets soaked, sliced, and folded into a rich, tart sour cream sauce with crisp apples and mellowed onions.
Prep time 15m
Marinate 2h
Rest time 4h
Total 6h 15m
Yield
6
Per serving:
292 kcal
9g Carbs
11g Protein
23g Fat
By Adam Dworak
Published: 30 July 2026
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Last Updated: 07 September 2026

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Ingredients

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Kitchen Kit

  • Large Mixing Bowl
  • Sieve
  • Sharp Knife
  • Kitchen Paper
  • Kettle
  • Chopping Board
  • Peeler
  • Spoon
Four herring fillets on a wooden cutting board, with a hand patting them dry with a paper towel. A large bowl, a small strainer, and a knife are visible in the background on a rustic wooden table. | Cook & Keeper - sledzie w smietanie

Method

  1. Submerge the salted herring fillets in a large bowl with the water. Leave them to soak for 2 hours to draw out the aggressive salt cure, draining and changing the water halfway through.
  2. Drain the fish completely, pat them thoroughly dry with kitchen paper, and slice them into 3cm bite-sized chunks. Chuck them into a clean mixing bowl.
  3. Finely dice the white onions. To knock out their harsh raw bite, tip them into a sieve, pour over a kettle of boiling water, then immediately rinse under the cold tap and shake dry. Add them to the herring.
  4. Peel, core, and finely dice the crisp apple. Toss the apple pieces immediately with the lemon juice so they don't oxidize and turn brown, then scrape the lot into the main bowl.
  5. Spoon over the sour cream. Scatter in the caster sugar, the tiny pinch of salt (the fish brings the rest to the party), and a heavy barrage of freshly ground black pepper.
  6. Gently fold the mixture together until the fish and vegetables are thickly coated. Cover tightly and leave to rest in the fridge for at least 4 hours—or ideally overnight—to let the flavours marry and the cream thicken.
Chef's Note & Storage
Fridge 3 days. Keep tightly sealed in a glass jar or container, as the onion and fish aromas are incredibly powerful. The flavours will significantly improve after the first 24 hours.
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Top-down view of a thick slice of dark rye bread spread with a creamy white sauce containing cubed cheese, pieces of herrings, dill, and black pepper, set on a rustic dark wooden table. | Cook & Keeper - sledz w smietanie

The Soul of the Polish Wigilia

Walk into any Polish home on Christmas Eve (Wigilia), and you will find herring. Śledzie w śmietanie is the undisputed king of the cold buffet—a masterclass in balancing aggressive, briny flavours with the cooling, lactic tang of sour cream. The dish relies entirely on contrast: the rich, oily chew of the salted matjes fillets, the sharp snap of fresh apple, and the mellow crunch of onion. It’s humble, but when executed with care, it’s proper old-world alchemy.

CHEF'S SECRET: Raw onion in a cold dish can easily overpower everything else. To knock out that harsh, antisocial sulphur bite while keeping the crunch, finely dice your onions and blanch them rapidly with boiling water, followed by an immediate plunge under a cold tap. It changes the entire profile of the dish.

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Balancing the Brine

Matjes herring comes aggressively cured. You cannot simply chop it up and chuck it in the bowl—you’ll end up with a dish so salty it strips the enamel off your teeth. The crucial first step is soaking the fillets in fresh cold water to draw out the excess salt. You want to leave just enough of the oceanic cure to season the thick sour cream sauce from the inside out.

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Cook’s Notes & Discussion

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