Monique Fiso and Hiakai

Posted on 2018-10-22

In the beginning of last year, I started seeing the name of this young chef pop up all over the place online and in print media.
Monique Fiso, a chef with a strong vision to explore Māori food and native New Zealand ingredients and turn it into fine dining. I felt really drawn to her passion and vision and her focus reminded me of what had happened with the food scene in Denmark, my home country 10-15 years ago. I wanted to tell her story, so I contacted Monique Fiso to see if she’d be keen to work with me.

Together we created an article for the Norwegian food magazine Nord (read article below), and the beginning of a body of photos that would later turn into many other things. Not just one magazine article but 2, a museeum exhibition (as some of the images will be exhibited this October at MOTAT, Aucklands Museeum of Transport and Technology as part of a bigger exhibition about Innovators and the work Monique Fiso has done with her restaurant concept Hiakai), a tiny feature in a Netflix show (as one image gets displayed in the bio about Monique Fiso, that features in the show) a calendar for year 2020 and a book (a much bigger body of work, which will be published next year), and who knows, maybe more…

During the time we have worked together, Monique Fiso has given me an incredible and invaluable view into native New Zealand food culture, and Māori cuisine. Something I didn’t pay much attention to before I met her. I view her work as something hugely important for the New Zealand food and restaurant scene, but also for NZ food tourism, general NZ culture and identity. She has hugely contributed to putting the New Zealand restaurant scene on the world map (and continues to do so), and I really admire her strong vision and ability to stay true to her purpose. Few people work as hard as her.

Moique Fiso foraging native plants for her Hiakai pop up dinner by Monique Fiso. Food; Cooking; Food photography; Food photographer; Eat, Hiakai, Maori Food, Native Cooking, New Zealand, Foraging, Hangi
Hangi Cooked Chicken with Root Vegetables and Maori Potatoes. Hiakai Winter Menu by Monique Fiso. Recipe and food styling by Monique Fiso. Styling and photography by Manja Wachsmuth.

Q&A with Monique Fiso, Hiakai
As published in Nord Magazine #24 Sep 2017
By Manja Wachsmuth

(Please note, that this Q&A was written in June 2017, thus many things, including Monique, has developed a lot since then. I’ve chosen to keep this as it was originally written, as a contrast to where Monique is at today with her vision.)

The New Zealand food scene is diverse and influenced by many cultures. Often referred to as Pacific Rim cuisine, almost all corners of the Earths most celebrated cuisines can be found in plentiful here. But something is happening under the radar. Similar to what happened to the Nordic Food scene when Rene Redzepi and Claus Meyer started Noma and founded the New Nordic Food manifesto. Several chefs and restaurateurs are starting to look closer at their own backyard, and what they can find in the native bush of The Land With The Long White Cloud. Up and coming, much celebrated in New Zealand, young chef Monique Fiso, is at the forefront of this foodie movement with her engagement in bringing Māori Cuisine back on the map.

Hiakai pop up dinner by Monique Fiso

What is your background as a chef and how does it relate to your cultural background?

I’ve been cooking professionally for 13 years, most of which has been in Michelin starred kitchens in New York City. I didn’t grow up knowing much about my culture at all, mainly because I was discouraged from doing so. New Zealand in the late 80’s and 90’s wasn’t as “Māori friendly” as it is today, there was a lot of racism so I grew up being told to act as Pakeha (White European) as possible if I wanted to get anywhere in life. I know a lot of Māori of my generation who grew up in this way also. It causes a lot of self-hate and depression in many of us. It wasn’t until my mid twenties that I started to explore my Māori heritage.
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Rewena Flatbread and Tītī Fat Butter. Hiakai Winter Menu by Monique Fiso. Recipe and food styling by Monique Fiso. Styling and photography by Manja Wachsmuth. Charred Kumara with Goats Cheese, Manuka Honey & Puha. Hiakai Winter Menu by Monique Fiso. Recipe and food styling by Monique Fiso. Styling and photography by Manja Wachsmuth.

Tell us a bit about Hiakai

Hiakai is a pop up series devoted to the exploration and development of Māori cooking techniques and ingredients. I started Hiakai because I really wanted to challenge the status quo on Māori Cuisine. People had this view that Māori cuisine is limited or unsophisticated and that it isn’t possible to integrate Māori cooking techniques or ingredients into a fine dining experience. I’m happy to say that Hiakai has blown that notion out of the water and now a lot of restaurants are integrating more elements of Māori food and culture into their business. Hiakai launched in June 2016 and quickly established itself as a leading innovator in the New Zealand food scene, while also helping play a huge role in keeping traditional Māori food culture alive.
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What is a Hāngi (explain to someone who wouldn’t have seen it or heard about it before), and how to do a Hāngi at home?

Hāngi is a traditional method of cookery used by Māori to cook food beneath the ground over hot volcanic rocks. It takes almost a whole day to cook a Hāngi, and it’s hot, hot labour intensive work which is why it started to be used less and less with the arrival of the British and the introduction of gas and electricity. The result is food that is incredibly moist and has earthy and smoky tones throughout.

First you dig a pit approximately 3 feet deep, then you place a lot of wood over the pit to create a large fire and place your volcanic rocks among the wood. Light the fire. You want the fire going pretty fiercely for 2 1/2 – 3 hours until the rocks are glowing red. While the fire is going, prepare your food and gather two large containers and fill them each half way with water. In one container place the leaves of two cabbages, in the other container soak 4 – 5 thick cloths that are large enough to cover the hole.

When the rocks are hot, remove them and keep them to the side. Shovel out all the ash and embers from the pit and keep them in a separate pile away from the rocks and hangi pit. Work quickly, your rocks are losing heat as you do this and you want to retain as much heat as possible. Once all the ash and embers are gone, place the rocks back into the hole. Toss your cabbage leaves over the rocks first, then put your food on next, then cover everything with the wet cloths and quickly start shoveling soil into the hāngi pit and keep going until everything is completely covered and the pit is full. Pat down the soil as much as possible to seal the heat in especially around the edges of the pit. If steam appears to escape from certain points, cover it with more soil and pat down. Depending on how large the hangi is or the size of the ingredients inside, the food will take approximately 4 hours to cook.
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Hiakai pop up dinner by Monique Fiso Moique Fiso chopping tree roots, whilst digging the pit for her Hangi at Hiakai pop up dinner by Monique Fiso. Moique Fiso taking a quick breather, whilst digging the pit for her Hangi at Hiakai pop up dinner by Monique Fiso. Moique Fiso loading up the Hangi pit for her Hiakai pop up dinner by Monique Fiso. The venue/ The tent. Hiakai pop up dinner by Monique Fiso in Waimauku, Winter 2017. Monique Fiso/ Hiakai Book published by Penguin Random House 2019. Photography by Manja Wachsmuth Moique Fiso taking food baskets out of the Hangi pit for her Hiakai pop up dinner by Monique Fiso.

Why cook in an earth oven instead of over open flame?

A Hāngi works more as a method of steaming, whereas fire is direct heat and roasting. Ancient Māori were masters of both methods. Hāngi was an ideal method of cookery in ancient Māori times because they could light the fires, heat the rocks, place the food in the pit, cover it and go out hunting, fishing or take on any other work that needed to be done on the Pā (Māori Settlement/Village), then come back at the end of the day and there would be all this food ready to go beneath the ground. In times of war this method was especially useful because once the pit is sealed, it’s almost undetectable whereas if you were cooking over an open fire your enemy would be able to spot your location from many kilometers away.
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Tips on matching meat and herbs in the earth oven?

Ancient Māori actually have plants that they specifically line kete baskets with depending on what protein they’re cooking, a sort of guideline if you will. If you are cooking Kaimoana (seafood) or any animal that lives of seafood e.g. Tītī Bird, then the rule of thumb is that you choose herbs, seaweeds and plants that grow along the coast to go in your Kete basket. If you are cooking Quail, Weka or Pigeon you would pick plants and herbs that grow in the forest around the animal’s natural habitat. It’s simple and it works. Of course you can always mix things up to suit your taste. I use a lot of the native plants and herbs to make brines and rubs as well as using them in my linings. Each to their own.
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What’s the biggest challenge for you, running Hiakai?

The biggest challenge for me is that there are almost no producers or suppliers of indigenous Māori ingredients, and this is a big reason why when people come to New Zealand they can’t find any Māori restaurants. Currently I have no choice but to forage for a majority of what appears on the menu. If I were to open a European, Indian or Mexican restaurant in New Zealand I’d been able to call a few suppliers and have things delivered to my restaurant door, no problem. That’s just not the case with Māori ingredients which is very odd considering we are the indigenous culture of New Zealand, you’d think that foods endemic to our land would be the easiest to get a hold of. Things are changing though, Hiakai is having a tremendous amount of influence in the New Zealand food scene and the demand for Māori ingredients across the country has increased demand so now there are companies that have just begun commercially growing and harvesting Kawakawa, Horopito, Pikopiko, Puha, Native Berries, etc. I’m incredibly proud that Hiakai has impacted the New Zealand food scene in this way in such a short amount of time.
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Hiakai pop up dinner by Monique Fiso Moique Fiso foraging native plants for her Hiakai pop up dinner by Monique Fiso. Moique Fiso foraging for Horopito and other native plants for her Hiakai pop up dinner by Monique Fiso. Food; Cooking; Foraging for native herbs for the Hangi. Hiakai pop up dinner by Monique Fiso in Waimauku, Winter 2017. Monique Fiso/ Hiakai Book published by Penguin Random House 2019. Photography by Manja Wachsmuth

What are your future plans?

There’s a lot on the go at the moment. I’m currently in the process of transitioning Hiakai from a pop up into a dining experience that will be a fixed location, it’s going to mean that I can grow my own vegetables and herbs, and also allow me to take the food up another level because I won’t be shifting the entire operation across the country every few months like I have been doing this past year. I’m writing a book on Māori cuisine at the moment, this is going to take some time as a lot of Māori culinary knowledge was passed on orally so to fill the blanks I have to go through historical accounts from early European settlers as well as interview a lot of Kaumatua (Māori elders) from different tribes to piece everything together.
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How do you think the New Zealand food scene compares to the Nordic food scene? Any parallels?

I feel that the New Zealand food scene is going in the same direction that the Nordic food scene went in the early 2000s. Chefs are starting to look at how best to utilize what is grown locally here rather than using imported ingredients from overseas to create their menus. The subject of “What is New Zealand Cuisine?” has been a topic of hot debate among Chefs, Food Writers and Producers. Our diets and food trends over the past 150 years has been heavily influenced by Britain so most of our restaurants are more “British-New Zealand” than anything else. Slowly New Zealand is starting to pull away from that and people are taking culinary cues from what grows in our own backyards rather than bringing in ingredients from other countries and trying to mimic England, Europe and North America.
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Explain about the herbs you use (the flavours and other characteristics), and how to swap these for things commonly found in Scandinavia

Just follow the same rules that the ancient Māori did with respect to choosing herbs that grow in the same areas that your chose meat, fruit or vegetable is growing in. At the end of the day, food is subjective. You can pair almost any herb you like with the food you’re planning to put in your Hāngi, just bear in mind you’ll want it to pair well with earthy, smoky flavors and it needs to be available.

Hangi Steamed Pudding, Roasted Corn Anglaise, Horopito Spiced Apples. Hiakai Winter Menu by Monique Fiso. Recipe and food styling by Monique Fiso. Styling and photography by Manja Wachsmuth.

Want to read more about kiwi chefs I’ve worked with?
Tom Hishon, Orpans Kitchen
Natasha MacAller, Vanilla Table
Peter Gordon, The Sugar Club

Orphans Kitchen

Posted on 2016-11-24

Dish Magazine #58

Having shot two editorials of Orphans Kitchen, been there to eat a few times, and also recently went to a ConversatioNZ talk by Tom Hishon, chef and co-owner, I thought it’s probably time to share this fabulous eatery on my blog.

Orphans Kitchen opened in 2014, named as a tribute to their London kitchen where all their “orphan” expat friends would gather for dinner during the holidays, Tom Hishon and Josh Helm was quick to find their niche on the competitive Auckland dining scene, and have had great success.

With bees on the roof and a love for locally sourced, organic and sustainable produce the eatery is at the front of the worldwide trend of local, honest ingredients, foraging and anything homemade and wholesome. If you haven’t been, GO!

Here Tom shares a couple of his recipes from the restaurant…

Dish Magazine #58 Homestyle Magazine #60

ROAST PORK FILLET
Serves 6

zest of two lemons
2 long sprigs of rosemary
pork scotch fillets, trimmed (300g of pork per person)
flaky sea salt
grapeseed oil
3 cloves of garlic
100g butter

Zest the lemons, chop the rosemary, then massage into the fillets. Leave overnight on a covered tray. Take out of the fridge one hour before cooking and bring to room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 140°C. Heavily season the fillets with flaky salt. Heat a cast iron pan to a high heat, and add enough grapeseed oil to make a shallow pool in the bottom of the pan. Add the fillets and heavily colour by rolling. Add the butter and garlic and continue cooking in
the foaming butter.

Once you have achieved a very heavy crust, place the meat on a wire rack. Put the rack on top of an oven tray and into the oven, rotating every 20 minutes. At the 60 minute mark the meat should be well roasted through and ready to serve. If you are not confident it is ready, insert a metal skewer in the centre, pull out and make sure the juices are running clear.

Homestyle Magazine #60

SWEDE & CARROT MASH
Serves 4-6

2-3 large swedes, peeled
4 carrots, peeled
3 tbsp olive oil
flaky sea salt
fresh thyme
50g honey
50g honeycomb
olive oil

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Cut the swedes and carrots into chunks and toss with olive oil, a good pinch of sea salt and the thyme. Put into a roasting tray, cover tightly, and roast for an hour and a half, or until very soft. Pour off residual juices, coarsely mash with the honey and season to taste. Top with honeycomb and drizzle with olive oil to serve.

BREAD & BUTTER PUDDING
Serves 6

800ml milk
200ml cream
1 vanilla bean, sliced length-ways
5 sprigs fresh thyme
100g dried currants
90ml Olorosso sherry
60ml water
1 loaf brioche
100g butter
fresh nutmeg
2 pears
zest of half an orange
1 tbsp honey

CUSTARD
1 whole egg
7 egg yolks
100g caster sugar
100g honey

Preheat the oven to 180°C. In a saucepan combine milk, cream, vanilla bean and 2 sprigs of thyme. Bring to a simmer while stirring with a wooden spoon.

Next, make the custard. In a large bowl, whisk the whole egg and yolks together with the sugar and honey until a creamy white texture is achieved. Pour the heated milk mixture over the beaten honey and eggs, while stirring to incorporate.

Place currants in a small saucepan with 60ml of sherry and 60ml of water. Bring to a simmer, cover with a lid then take o the heat until they plump up. Cut the brioche into 2cm slices and butter each side with half the butter. Finely grate nutmeg over the buttered brioche.

Assemble in small ovenproof bowls, layering the brioche with the crusts sticking out. Pour the custard over the top, sprinkle with currants and leave to sit for half an hour.

Place the bowls into a deep oven tray and pour in enough boiling water to come halfway up the side of them. Carefully place the tray in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes.

While the puddings are cooking, peel and cut pears into 6-8 wedges, removing the cores. In a non-stick pan, add the remaining butter, thyme sprigs and pear slices. Cook until golden brown, then add honey and remaining 30ml of sherry. Flame, then serve alongside the pudding.

Homestyle Magazine #60

ORPHAN OLD FASHIONED
Serves 2

120ml whisky (any will do, but we prefer to use a rye or a bourbon)
3 cloves
2 cinnamon quills
Angostura orange bitters
2 cubes or 2 level tsp sugar
orange rind

Steep 120ml of whisky overnight with 3 cloves and half a cinnamon quill.

Absorb Angostura in sugar (a cube of sugar on a napkin works best).

Muddle orange rind with sugar in a Boston or large glass.

Fill half a glass with ice and 60ml of whisky. Stir until sugar melts. Top with ice and add another 60ml of whisky. Stir again. Strain liquid from the ice. This can be made in advance. Pour half the liquid into a serving glass with a large block of ice, then squeeze orange rind into the drink to release the oils. Garnish and serve with more orange rind or a cinnamon quill. Drink responsibly.

A selection of these images has previously been published in Dish Magazine#58 and Homestyle Magazine#60. The recipes was also published in Homestyle Magazine #60.
Recipes © Tom Hishon, Orphans Kitchen

Parts of this story also features on my profile on Steller

Amass Copenhagen

Posted on 2014-12-03

Copenhagen Travel Story, Dish Magazine

With summer just around the corner here in New Zealand, and a trip to Denmark planned for Christmas, I’ve been thinking back on my trip home to Denmark in June, earlier this year. Back then I was doing a few travel stories about Denmark and specifically Copenhagen for Dish Magazine here in New Zealand. I also had the pleasure of doing a shoot with Matt Orlando at Restaurant Amass Copenhagen, to be included in a travel piece on Copenhagen. I was incredibly intrigued by the athmosphere at Amass, and Matt’s approach to the “New Nordic Cuisine” style of restaurant and cooking. The whole place, everyone there and Matt himself, just oozes “cool” and I can’t wait to go back and actually dine there and be able to take the whole place in, on a more relaxed level. I hope and wonder if it’s just as awesome in winter…

Copenhagen Standard

Posted on 2014-07-23

Copenhagen Travel Story, Dish Magazine

While I was in Denmark for the month of June, I also photographed a travel story on the food scene in Copenhagen for Dish Magazine. The article is written by food writer, cook book editor, self acclaimed foodie and now also cook book author Marie Holm. I first met Marie, when I started shooting for Danish food magazine MAD&venner (FOOD&friends) back in 2008, before I left Copenhagen to go travelling. Back then Marie worked for the magazine, but today she is freelancing, working for all sorts of magazines, publishers and others who needs Marie’s expertise as an experienced food writer.

When I first came to New Zealand in 2009, with my portfolio and a stack of MAD&venner magazines under my arm, I was thrilled when Dish magazine booked me, and every year since I’ve been trying to talk them into doing some sort of story on Copenhagen. This time they finally jumped on it, and I was fortunate enough to talk Marie Holm into writing the story, as I knew there wouldn’t be anyone more perfect for it. Now the story is out in recent issue of Dish Magazine (#55 August 2014). Unfortunately I can’t publish it here (so you should go buy the magazine to read Marie’s brilliant story), but I can show off some of the extra photos, that didn’t make the cut for the article.

First off we have a new favorite of mine. Claus Meyer and Torsten Vildgaard’s new place The Standard. Based in what used to be the former Custom House, they’ve opened up 3 new restaurants and a jazz club. I visited two of those restaurants: Studio and Alamanak, to photograph for the article and although I’ve only been in Copenhagen this time for 2 weeks in total, I still managed to eat at Almanak 3 times for lunch. What can I say? The food is great – I just love that liver patee (pictured above)! Danish smørrebrød, open sandwiches, with a modern, New Nordic twist. I suppose it has become the new Copenhagen Standard for me. The other restaurant, Studio, is definitely more of a fine dining place of the New Nordic Cuisine caliber, and I suppose former Noma souschef Torsten Vildgaard’s playground – his Studio. Unfortunately I didn’t get to actually eat at Studio this time, although I hope to return and have the pleasure of Torstens genius cooking.

More photos from my favorite city in the world, Copenhagen, later. Thanks for stopping by!

Visit Strandgaarden Badehotel

Posted on 2014-07-22

Strandgården Badehotel, Læsø

My last stop for the day of my visit to Læsø this time around was Strandgaarden Badehotel.

Strandgaarden beach hotel offers an idyllic setting and located just 4 minutes walk to the beach, it’s the perfect spot for a relaxing summer holiday. I could have stayed here for weeks on end, reading, relaxing, swimming, and taking heaps more photos, enjoying the Danish summer when it’s at its best. This place is so quaint and cute, that I just had to dedicate a whole blog post to it.

The hotel was built in 1727 and parts of the original building are still in use. The owner takes pride in keeping the hotel in its original idyllic state with thatched roof and half timbering, but with all the commodities of modern day living. Such is the hotel kitchen, which each year has a new, up and coming Danish chef have a chance to stand up to the big boys, with the title as head chef at Strandgaarden Badehotel. The owner Ole Lind, has gotten pretty good at picking them, and for many years Strandgaarden has earned much appraisal in the media across Denmark. Every evening the menu changes according to the season and what’s available on the island, so what’s served tonight will most likely not be served tomorrow. The element of surprise is one of the things I find intriguing about the restaurant here alongside the presentation of the food by the table, by the kitchen chefs – Nicolas Højgaard Michaels and head chef Thomas Wetle Andersen.

I was served:

Homemade Sourdough Rolls & Browned Butter stirred with Butter Milk, Crème Fraiche and Onion Powder
Amuse Bouche: Seaweed Chips, Lobster Mayo and Chervil + Pork Belly, Parsley Puree and Spiced Crackling
Starter: Scampi, Kohlrabi and Green Strawberries
Main: Lobster, Scallops and Yellow Peas
Dessert: Dark Chocolate, Truffle and Blackberry Granita
All accompanied by a Sparkling Rosé to begin, a NZ Honky Dory Sauvignon Blanc for the starter and the main and a Riesling to end.

Thumbs up to both of the chefs! I loved the sourdough rolls with the browned butter, and if it wasn’t because it requires some pretty expensive, high end pro kitchen gear, I would make that butter myself. Everything else was delicious too, particularly the main, which really played with, not just the flavours but also the textures. It’s not often I say it, but the highlight of the meal was definitely the dessert. The surprising taste of the chocolate cake, which I was told later was the influence of the truffle, was really interesting and intriguing. I suppose after shooting a sweet and savoury book about Vanilla, those combinations of savoury flavours with sweet or vice versa, is really something I notice.

After a very tasty meal, a quick chat to the chefs and tons of photos later, I had to end the evening watching the sunset on the beach. It’s one of those things I love! It’s the perfect ending to a perfect day, before going to sleep in one of Strandgaarden’s super comfortable beds.

Thanks to Ole Lind at Strandgaarden Badehotel for excellent service! Read more about Strandgaarden on their website or join their facebook page for regular news and updates.

Next up are some of things I got up to in Copenhagen, so please come back soon!

Danish Design Sandwiches

Posted on 2013-12-19

Smorrebrod, Danish Open Sandwiches

Being Danish abroad (from Denmark), one can hardly talk about food without bringing up the subject Danish food and Danish open sandwiches. With a lot of focus on Danish food and the Scandinavian food scene in general, over the last few years, it is also with certain pride that I do talk about it. With Rene Redzepi‘s Noma probably being the main source for our glory these days, the New Nordic Food movement has given us reason to be proud and to show off our heritage. I’m pleased to see that it’s not just the Danish “fine dining” scene that is popular, but also more down to earth Danish food is starting to be the talk of town. Maybe not so much in New Zealand yet, but in New York most certainly, and also in Australia. In Melbourne, Danish chef Bente Grysbæk runs Restaurant Dansk, at Denmark House a division of the Royal Danish Consulate in Melbourne. Earlier this year I went to see Bente, and to shoot some work with her for a future project that also involves New Zealand based journalist Kirsten Rødsgaard-Matiesen. Bente and Restaurant Dansk focuses entirely on a Danish menu with a twist, and here you can get beautifully designed Danish open sandwiches, with all elements made from scratch, just like our grandmothers would.

Around Christmas time I usually get quite homesick and one thing that is very closely related to home is of course food, and especially our open sandwiches – Smørrebrød as we call them. Great Danish food is hard to come by out here, although our beloved rye bread is now available at some supermarkets and specialty bakers around Auckland. So a simple open sandwich with pate, salami or salmon with a slice of cucumber is often part of my lunch, but not nearly as artistic and handcrafted as Bente’s. And one thing that I rarely have is the Christmas seasons variety of marinated herring with curry salad on top. So I’m very pleased that Bente has shared her very own recipe for making marinated herring. This is a must have on the Christmas table on a slice of rye, with a shot of snaps/ akvavit to wash it down with. Enjoy!

Marinade for herring
4 large herring fillets in oil (or 8 small)
200ml water
200ml vinegar
125g caster sugar
1/2 tbsp salt
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp whole black pepper corn
1/2 tbsp yellow mustard seeds
1/2 tbsp all spice
5 whole gloves
Put everything in a pot, except the herring fillets, and let simmer for about 30min. Let the marinade cool down completely. Drain the herring fillets from any oil or other marinade they came in. Then add them to the cooled marinade and leave for at least 1 week, 3 weeks is optimal.

Yellow marbled eggs
2 eggs
1 tsp turmeric (for yellow marble)
Cook 2 large eggs for 8min then refresh in ice water until cold. Now crack the shell all over, without removing any of the shell. Dissolve the turmeric in plain cold water then add the cracked eggs.
Leave for 1-2 days before peeling. They should be used the same day as you have peeled them, as the marbling fades.

Curry salad
100g mayonnaise
50g sour cream
30g raw macaroni soup pasta
1 granny smith apple peeled and cut into fine dices
1.5 tsp mild curry powder
Pinch of pepper
Mix mayonnaise and sour cream thoroughly combined. Then add apple dices, cooked soup pasta, curry powder and season with pepper. Salt is not necessary, but optional.

Assembling
Find a nice rustic rye bread from your local bakery, and cut 2 slices length way, 1 cm thick and cut in half again, so you end up with 4 rectangle pieces. Spread each slice of bread with good quality butter, salted. Drain herring on paper towel before placing on top. Then place the curry salad in a straight line. Peel the eggs and cut into wedges before placing on top of the curry salad, egg yolk facing down. Then garnish with thinly sliced granny smith apples and shallots, capers and dill.
Best accompanied by ice-cold beer and aquavit.