Budmo! Famous Odessa Forshmak
Adapted from Budmo!: Recipes from a Ukrainian Kitchen, by Anna Voloshyna. The author mentions in her headnote that the first time she tasted forshmak — a kind of herring mousse — was in a Jewish restaurant in Odessa. She featured it in an Odessa-inspired pop-up in San Francisco, “and people loved it.” Budmo! was one of Cooks Without Borders’ Best New Cookbooks of 2022.
We did too. Perhaps that’s because we grew up eating pickled herring, which is both a popular traditional Ashkenazi Jewish diaspora snack, and a beloved French bistro starter (with boiled potatoes). If you’re not already in love with pickled herring, you might find it odd, but we could eat it once a week. It’s fabulous with toasted dark rye. If you live in a city where there are Jewish appetizing shops or delis, such as New York, you can often find pickled herring in them. Otherwise, look for German, Slavic or Eastern European delicatessens. We found both freshly baked dark rye and jars of pickled herring in a local German deli. (Look for herring without preservatives.) Voloshyna recommends Santa Bremor “matjes” herring fillets in oil, but we didn’t find that.
Voloshyna’s recipe indicates that it serves four, but it make more than 2 1/4 cups of forshmak, which is enough for a crowd.
Makes about 2 1/4 cups.
Ingredients
2 ounces crustless soft white bread, cut into cubes
1/3 cup heavy cream
8 ounces skinless pickled herring fillet, roughly chopped
1 hard-boiled egg, peeled and chopped
1 small green apple, peeled, halved, cored and roughly chopped
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed
3 tablespoons minced shallot
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
Apple cider vinegar for seasoning (if needed)
Salt (if needed)
2 tablespoons thinly sliced scallion, green part only
Toasted rye bread, for serving
Instructions
1. Put the bread cubes into a small bowl, cover with the cream and let the bread soak for about 20 minutes.
2. Squeeze the bread to remove as much liquid as possible, then put the bread into the bowl of a food processor. Add the herring, egg, apple, butter, shallot and pepper to the bowl and process until a smooth paste forms. Taste, and if needed, add a splash of vinegar and/or salt and mix well.
3. Spoon the paste onto a small serving plate and top with the sliced scallion. Serve with rye.
Budmo! Famous Odessa Forshmak
Ingredients
- 2 ounces crustless soft white bread, cut into cubes
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 8 ounces skinless pickled herring fillet, roughly chopped
- 1 hard-boiled egg, peeled and chopped
- 1 small green apple, peeled, halved, cored and roughly chopped
- 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 3 tablespoons minced shallot
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- Apple cider vinegar for seasoning (if needed)
- Salt (if needed)
- 2 tablespoons thinly sliced scallion, green part only
- Toasted rye bread, for serving
Instructions
- Put the bread cubes into a small bowl, cover with the cream and let the bread soak for about 20 minutes.
- Squeeze the bread to remove as much liquid as possible, then put the bread into the bowl of a food processor. Add the herring, egg, apple, butter, shallot and pepper to the bowl and process until a smooth paste forms. Taste, and if needed, add a splash of vinegar and/or salt and mix well.
- Spoon the paste onto a small serving plate and top with the sliced scallion. Serve with rye.
